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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.
Marko Maucec, Matjaz Ravnik, Bogdan Glumac
Nuclear Technology | Volume 122 | Number 3 | June 1998 | Pages 255-264
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2867
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A criticality safety study of various forms of multiplying medium based on RBMK-1000 fuel elements is presented. The calculations were performed with the Los Alamos National Laboratory Monte Carlo MCNP4B code. Continuous energy cross-section data have been taken from the ENDF/B-VI and ENDF/B-V libraries and S(,) scattering functions from the ENDF/B-IV library. A detailed three-dimensional model of the RBMK fuel element has been developed. A set of parametric calculations was performed for some hypothetical fuel conditions with the infinite model of storage lattice. Multiplying properties of homogenized mixture of fuel and moderator were also analyzed. Certain combinations of moderator (graphite-water mixture) and fuel may yield a significantly increased multiplication factor with respect to normal reactor lattice conditions. MCNP calculations were performed for fresh fuel conditions. The reduction of the multiplication factor due to burnup up to 20 GWd/TU was estimated using the WIMS/D-5 code for lattice-cell conditions. It was observed that the multiplication factor (kinf or keff) does not exceed unity if the burnup is taken into account regardless of the assumptions on the fuel conditions.
