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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.
Ling Zou, Hongbin Zhang, Jess Gehin, Brendan Kochunas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 183 | Number 3 | September 2013 | Pages 535-542
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors / Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A19440
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A thermal-hydraulics (TH)/neutronics/crud multiphysics coupling framework to simulate the crud deposits' impact on crud-induced power shift (CIPS) phenomenon is proposed in this paper. The coupling among three essential physics (i.e., TH, crud, and neutronics) was implemented by coupling the computational fluid dynamics software STAR-CCM+, a newly developed crud module, and the neutronics code DeCART. A typical 3 × 3 pressurized water reactor fuel pin problem was analyzed with this framework and simulation results are presented. Time-dependent results are provided for a 12-month simulation. Simulation results provide the history of crud deposits inventory and their distributions on fuel rods, boron hideout amount inside crud deposits, and power shape changing over time. The obtained results clearly showed the power shape suppression in regions where crud deposits exist, a clear indication of CIPS phenomenon.