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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.
Ronald R. Winget
Nuclear Technology | Volume 85 | Number 1 | April 1989 | Pages 7-11
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34222
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Based on personal and industrial experiences, Point Beach Nuclear Plant personnel have developed a secondary in-service inspection program to detect and quantify significant service-related degradation and preexisting conditions in piping systems that could jeopardize the integrity of those systems in the future. The underlying objective of the program is to look at piping components whose failure could result in significant personnel or equipment damage. The primary concern is to locate areas of severe erosion-corrosion in carbon steel piping prior to the occurrence of a leak or catastrophic rupture. In addition, certain welds are examined to locate areas of significant fatigue damage demonstrated by service-related flaw extension or crack growth. Using an internally developed computer model called the Badness Factor Program, plant personnel rank components as to their susceptibility to erosion-corrosion and stress-induced fatigue. It uses hydrodynamic variables to assign a factor to each component and fitting so a comparison of the relative magnitudes of this factor can be made for a given system or piping section. A qualitative decision is then made as to where the most likely location is for degradation.