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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.
Young Woo Rhee, Dong Joo Kim, Jong Hun Kim, Jae Ho Yang, Keon Sik Kim
Nuclear Technology | Volume 184 | Number 1 | October 2013 | Pages 54-62
Technical Paper | Fuel Design/Defects/Examination / Fuel Performance/Bu/Isotopes | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A19868
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A heat flux split is one of the important technical issues in dual-cooled annular fuel. The inner and outer diameters of an annular pellet should be carefully controlled because they determine the inner and outer gap sizes and thereby influence the balance in a heat flux split. The outer diameter of a sintered annular pellet can be controlled to a final uniform size by a centerless grinding. However, it is difficult and unproductive to grind the inner surface of all annular pellets. To obtain a uniform inner diameter among annular pellets and to minimize a diametric tolerance without inner surface grinding, we applied a rigid rod-inserted sintering process to the annular pellet fabrication. An annular compact was first compacted with a double-acting press and then sintered with a precisely machined rigid rod inserted. The rigid rod can prevent an inhomogeneous deformation of the inner surface during sintering, and thus it controls the inner diameter of the sintered annular pellets and reduces the inner diametric tolerance of a sintered annular pellet without inner surface grinding.