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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.
Jeremy D. M. Linn, Stephen J. Maskell, Mike A. Patrick
Nuclear Technology | Volume 81 | Number 1 | April 1988 | Pages 122-125
Technical Note | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT88-A34084
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Heat transfer rates to spray droplets under conditions corresponding to those of a loss-of-coolant accident in a light water nuclear reactor have been recalculated in light of the discovery of missing mass exchange terms in the equations of motion used in a previously published computation. While the inclusion of these missing terms into the model equations proves to make only a small difference in the rate of temperature increase of the droplet, the fall distance of the droplets, important in spray heat transfer efficiency, is significantly altered. Furthermore, it is shown that the predicted fall distance, e.g., at 95% temperature interval increase, is very sensitive to the drag law employed in the calculation.