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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.
Masaki Suwa, Atsuyuki Suzuki
Nuclear Technology | Volume 85 | Number 2 | May 1989 | Pages 187-205
Technical Paper | Chemical Processing | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34240
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The pinching effect in a co-decontamination extraction process is investigated with much concern for criticality safety control. To predict the pinching effect, computer codes, such as PULCO, are used to make numerical simulations. Using computer codes for criticality safety control seems to be impractical, however, because some uncertainties are inevitably associated with the calculation due to the assumptions that are included in a simulation code; thus, a safety margin must be taken into account in designing extraction equipment. A new model for inferring pinching effects is proposed. It is based on knowledge that represents the intrinsic nature of the pinching effect and a co-decontamination process holding independent of process conditions. The predictions obtained from this model are conservative, but practical from the standpoint of criticality safety control. The margin in designing equipment can be reduced if the overall reliability of a measurement system in which this model is to be incorporated is high enough to predict pinching effects. The program of this model is written in logic programming language, C-Prolog.