ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
C. H. King, M. S. Ouyang, B. S. Pei, Y. W. Wang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 82 | Number 2 | August 1988 | Pages 211-226
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT88-A34108
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new technique of identifying the flow regimes of air/water two-phase flow in a vertical pipe is proposed. This technique is based on analyzing the statistical characteristics of the static and differential pressure signals by an optimum modeling method. The major concept of the optimum modeling method is to fit the two-phase flow pressure noise by autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models with an optimization technique. The results show that it is possible to identify the flow patterns from a set of “flow regime indices,” such as dynamic signature, order of dominant dynamics mode, and order of ARMA model. A computer code based on these indices has been built on an IBM-PC/XT microcomputer to perform two-phase flow pattern identification. The success probability of this code is ∼85% on the data base collected from our experimental work. The experimental data points are also indicated in a Taitel flow map and excellent matching has been shown, except for some points around the flow regime transition boundaries. These discrepancies are due to the subjective categorization of the flow regimes.