ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Cliff B. Davis
Nuclear Technology | Volume 133 | Number 2 | February 2001 | Pages 187-193
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT01-A3168
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Lead-bismuth is currently being considered as a coolant for fast reactors designed to produce low-cost electricity as well as burn actinides. Lead-bismuth fluid properties have been added to the ATHENA code so that it can be used in the thermal-hydraulic analysis of lead-bismuth-cooled reactors. The capability of ATHENA to calculate the void fraction of a two-component, two-phase mixture of liquid lead-bismuth and steam in cocurrent upflow was assessed using the El-Boher and Lesin void correlation. The assessment showed that the drift flux correlations currently available in the code predicted trends that were in reasonable agreement with the El-Boher and Lesin void correlation, but the predicted void fractions were significantly too high. For example, the Kataoka-Ishii correlation, which was the best of the available correlations, predicted void fractions that were up to 30% greater than the values from the El-Boher and Lesin correlation. Consequently, the El-Boher and Lesin correlation was implemented in a modified version of ATHENA. The implementation was complicated by the fact that the El-Boher and Lesin correlation was an explicit correlation for void fraction rather than a drift flux correlation. An approach was developed so that the code's basic drift flux formulation could be used to easily implement an explicit void correlation. The predictions of the modified code were in excellent agreement with the El-Boher and Lesin void correlation.