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The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
David A. Petti, Zoel R. Martinson, Richard R. Hobbins, Daniel J. Osetek
Nuclear Technology | Volume 94 | Number 3 | June 1991 | Pages 313-335
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A15812
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Highly irradiated fuel rods and control rods are used in the Power Burst Facility Severe Fuel Damage (SFD) Test 1-4 to simulate conditions expected during a high-temperature, severe fuel damage accident in a pressurized water reactor. The objective of the test is to provide data on fuel and control rod behavior, hydrogen generation, and the release and transport of fission products and aerosols during severe accidents. Important results from the test based upon the response of on-line instrumentation, analysis of fission product and aerosol data, and postirradiation examination of the fuel bundle are presented. The results from SFD 1-4 provide insight into phenomena governing fuel bundle thermal response, Zircaloy oxidation and hydrogen generation, control rod degradation behavior, core melt progression, fission product release, aerosol generation, and fission product and aerosol deposition and transport.