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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.
Lainsu Kao, Ping-Hue Huang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 127 | Number 3 | September 1999 | Pages 382-388
Technical Note | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT99-A3008
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The reactor coolant pump locked rotor analysis methodology developed by Taiwan Power Company for application to pressurized water reactors (PWRs) is presented. The proposed locked rotor analysis methodology utilizes two computer codes developed or sponsored by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI): system transient analysis code RETRAN-02 and fuel rod evaluation code FREY. RETRAN-02 determines the transient system responses and the peak reactor coolant system (RCS) pressure. FREY utilizes the core power and core flow transients generated by RETRAN-02 to evaluate the peak clad temperature (PCT) during the transient. FREY is needed for PCT calculations since the conservative modeling assumptions with respect to the PCT can be different from those with respect to the peak RCS pressure. Both computer codes have been properly qualified by benchmarking against the vendor's results.An asymmetric-flow condition would be developed following the initiation of the locked rotor incident. Although there is no guidance in EPRI's "Reactor Analysis Support Package, Volume 3: PWR Event Analysis Guidelines" for the modeling of incomplete mixing at the downcomer and the lower plenum, it was observed from the sensitivity results that the maximum RCS pressure is very sensitive to the amount of mixing. Thus, a split-core model is required to adequately simulate the asymmetric-flow effect.