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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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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.
A. K. Sengupta, J. Banerjee, T. Jarvis, T. R. G. Kutty, K. Ravi, S. Majumdar
Nuclear Technology | Volume 142 | Number 3 | June 2003 | Pages 260-269
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3388
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Hyperstoichiometric uranium-plutonium mixed carbide fuel (U0.3Pu0.7)C1+x has been the driver fuel for the sodium-cooled Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam, India. The existing core is being slowly expanded by substituting the earlier fuel with hyperstoichiometric (U0.45Pu0.55)C1+x fuel for operation of the reactor at full power [40 MW(thermal)] and at higher linear heat rating of the fuel. To evaluate the fuel in terms of its in-reactor performance, some of the important out-of-pile thermophysical and thermomechanical property data like the coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and hot hardness have been generated as a function of temperature. The out-of-pile chemical compatibility of the fuel with Type 316 stainless steel (20% cold-worked) cladding material has also been established experimentally. From the data generated in these measurements, it has been concluded that with this fuel the reactor could be operated at full power with a fuel linear heat rating of 400 W/cm. Out-of-pile compatibility experiments indicate that carburization of the clad by carbon transfer from the fuel would not be severe to cause any breach of clad during the residence time of the fuel in the reactor.