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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.
Michael C. Baker, Riccardo Bonazza
Nuclear Technology | Volume 125 | Number 1 | January 1999 | Pages 40-51
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT99-A2931
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An experimental apparatus for investigating the injection of nitrogen gas and water into the base of a steel tank containing molten tin has been developed. A first set of experiments based on only gas injection has been used to develop a diagnostic technique using continuous high-energy X rays and digital imaging to observe the mixing process and to measure local and average void fractions in the test section as a function of time and space. This unique application of real-time, high-energy, X-ray imaging has been used to generate two-dimensional mappings of the chordal-average void fraction with spatial resolution corresponding to a 0.43-mm2 cross-sectional area perpendicular to the X-ray path and time resolutions of <5 ms. Void fraction measurements with superficial gas injection velocities from 0.07 to 0.14 m/s into a 0.08-m-deep pool of 683 K molten tin indicate that the time and spatial average integral void fraction at these gas injection rates is relatively constant, in the range from 0.26 to 0.31. Similar injections into pools of 0.14- and 0.15-m depths have also exhibited relatively constant average integral void fractions in the range from 0.18 to 0.26. These values are in good agreement with past integral experimental measurements in mercury, Wood's metal, and molten steel.