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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.
W. Seifritz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 88 | Number 2 | November 1989 | Pages 201-206
Technical Paper | NSF Workshop on the Research Needs of the Next Generation Nuclear Power Technology / Economic | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34328
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new mixed fossil/nuclear energy system for the production of electricity from coal is presented, in which the process heat of a high-temperature reactor is used to produce a synthesis gas in a fluidized bed, via a water/gas reaction. A gas turbine, or alternatively a high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell, is used to produce electricity in a combined steam cycle as well as pure CO2, which is condensed and disposed in the deep ocean. The overall efficiency of such a system is higher than that of the classical CO2 recovery system, particularly for a high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell. Thus, the recovery and disposal of CO2 from an energy system, based mainly on fossil fuels, seem to be no longer utopian.