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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.
Stuart A. Maloy, Walter F. Sommer, Michael R. James, Tobias J. Romero, Manuel R. Lopez, Eugene Zimmermann, James M. Ledbetter
Nuclear Technology | Volume 132 | Number 1 | October 2000 | Pages 103-114
Technical Paper | Accelerator Applications | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3132
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A materials qualification program has been developed to irradiate and test candidate materials (alloy 718, Type 316L, and Type 304L stainless steel, modified Fe9Cr-1Mo(T91), Al-6061-T6, and Al-5052-O) for use in the Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) target and blanket. The irradiations were performed in prototypic proton and neutron spectra at prototypic temperatures (50 to 160°C). The study used the 800-MeV, 1.0-mA proton accelerator at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, which produces a Gaussian beam with 2 sigma = 3 cm. The experiment geometry is arranged to contain near-prototypic modules of the tungsten neutron source and the lead and aluminum blanket as well as mechanical test specimens of candidate APT materials. The particle spectrum varies throughout the irradiation volume; specimens are exposed to protons and a variety of mixed proton and neutron spectra, depending on the specimen's position relative to the beam center. These specimens have been irradiated for >3600 h to a maximum proton fluence of 4 × 1021 p/cm2 in the center of the proton beam. Specimens will yield data on the effect of proton irradiation, to high dose, on material properties from tensile tests, three-point bend tests, fracture toughness tests, pressurized tubes, U-bend stress corrosion cracking specimens, corrosion measurements, and microstructural characterization using transmission electron microscopy specimens. Results from these studies are applicable to all spallation neutron sources now in operation and under consideration, including the Spallation Neutron Source, the European Spallation Source, and The Accelerator Transmutation of Waste project.