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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.
Marco Cigarini, Mario Dalle Donne
Nuclear Technology | Volume 84 | Number 1 | January 1989 | Pages 33-53
Technical Paper | Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34194
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Calculations of the reflooding phase during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) have been performed for two homogeneous advanced pressurized water reactors (APWRs) with a wide [pitch-to-diameter (p/d) ratio = 1.2] and a tighter (p/d = 1.123) fuel rod lattice as well as for a reference 1300-MW(electric) pressurized water reactor (PWR). The FLUT computer code, developed by the Gesellschaft für Reaktorsicherheit in Garching for the reflooding phase of a PWR, has been improved: A new criterion for the determination of the onset of the upper quench front and a new water droplet model for the dispersed flow film boiling have been introduced in the code, as well as new friction factor correlations more suitable for the core geometry of an APWR. Finally, the interfacial drag coefficients between steam and water are not independent of the geometry as in FLUT, but rather the flow channel geometry is taken into account. The new version of the code (FLUT-FDWR) has been tested on the base of various reflooding experiments in PWR (FLECHT, FEBA, SEFLEX) as well as APWR (FLORESTAN) core geometries. In all the cases investigated, the FLUT-FDWR predictions are relatively good and generally better than with the original FLUT version. The reactor calculations with FLUT-FDWR indicate that the maximum cladding temperatures in the APWRs during the reflooding phase are lower than those for the PWR. This is due to the lower temperatures for the APWRs at the beginning of the reflooding phase and to the higher isostatic water pressure above the APWR cores, which are shorter and therefore placed in a lower position inside the reactor pressure vessel. The cladding temperatures calculated for the PWR and the two APWRs are quite acceptable and considerably lower than those calculated during the blowdown phase of the LOCA.