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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.
Akitoshi Hotta, Minyan Zhang, Hisashi Ninokata
Nuclear Technology | Volume 135 | Number 1 | July 2001 | Pages 17-38
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT01-A3203
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Based on the Ringhals unit-1 stability test results, the coupling system TRAC/BF1-ENTRÉE has been benchmarked for predicting decay ratio and limit-cycle amplitude of the regional instability. The core was mapped into fewer CHAN groups based on the first azimuthal mode flux shape and the guidelines to minimize the numerical interregion stabilizing interaction. The system was further applied to detailed phenomenological studies. A symmetric pattern of the first azimuthal mode gave a dynamic boundary condition for ideal out-of-phase flow oscillations and lowers the regional instability threshold. The intermode interaction between the fundamental and first azimuthal modes was demonstrated under postulated large oscillations. Self- and mutual-modal reactivities were evaluated based on the higher modal flux shapes derived by ACCORD-N.