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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.
Andrew C. Kauffman, Don W. Miller, Thomas D. Radcliff, Keith W. Maupin, Daniel J. Mills, V. Matthew Penrod
Nuclear Technology | Volume 140 | Number 2 | November 2002 | Pages 222-232
Technical Paper | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technologies | doi.org/10.13182/NT02-A3335
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An in-reactor test facility has been designed and built at The Ohio State University Research Reactor to evaluate the static and dynamic performance of nuclear reactor in-core sensors in environmental and neutronic conditions comparable to those expected in a high-temperature gas reactor. The primary objective for design and construction of this facility was to evaluate the performance of prototype constant-temperature power sensors. The facility can test sensors and materials over a wide range of temperatures up to 800°C, over a range of Reynolds numbers that can be varied to evaluate thermal-dynamic response, and at a reasonable neutron flux value that can be oscillated nearly 7% (up to 100 Hz eventually) to deterministically evaluate sensor transfer functions. Testing has demonstrated that this facility safely performs its desired functions with the current limitation of a 50-Hz maximum neutron flux oscillation speed.