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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.
Christopher C. Pain, Cassiano R. E. de Oliveira, Antony J. H. Goddard, Adrian P. Umpleby
Nuclear Technology | Volume 135 | Number 3 | September 2001 | Pages 194-215
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT01-A3216
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Numerical modeling of criticality transients in dilute plutonium solutions is presented. The solutions concerned may be expected to have an overall positive temperature coefficient of reactivity at ambient temperatures. Simulations were performed using the FETCH coupled radiation transport-multiphase hydrodynamics code for the cases of step and ramp reactivity insertions. The code has been developed for modeling scenarios beyond the reach of experiment and has been extended to cover the coupling of radiolytic gas behavior and pressure. It is demonstrated that dilute plutonium criticality excursions may be terminated by radiolytic gas evolution provided that the gas is allowed to evolve freely, and that this may result in modest fission yields. However, it is also demonstrated that suppression of radiolytic gas bubbles by pressure may give rise to considerably energetic excursions with consequent large yields.