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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.
Carolyn McGraw, Germina Ilas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 183 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 436-445
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors / Radiation Transport and Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A19431
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
New pressurized water reactor (PWR) cross-section libraries were generated for use with the ORIGEN-ARP depletion sequence in the SCALE nuclear analysis code system. These libraries are based on ENDF/B-VII.0 nuclear data and were generated using the two-dimensional depletion sequence, TRITON/NEWT, in SCALE 6.1. The libraries contain multiple burnup-dependent cross sections for seven PWR fuel designs, with enrichments ranging from 1.5 to 6 wt% 235U and burnups from 0 to 90 GW(d)/tonne U. The computational methodology and studies performed to establish an optimal depletion model for cross-section library generation are discussed in this paper. Verification against detailed TRITON simulations for the considered assembly designs showed that depletion calculations performed in ORIGEN-ARP with the pregenerated libraries provide results similar to those obtained with direct TRITON depletion while greatly reducing the computation time. Validation of the libraries, carried out using radiochemical assay measurements and decay heat measurements for PWR spent fuel, showed good agreement between calculated and experimental data.