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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.
Tsuguyuki Kobayashi, Motoyasu Kinoshita, Sadao Hattori, Toru Ogawa, Yasushi Tsuboi, Masayoshi Ishida, Shinta Ogawa, Hiroaki Saito
Nuclear Technology | Volume 89 | Number 2 | February 1990 | Pages 183-193
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34345
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A simple fuel performance code, SESAME, has been developed to analyze the steady-state irradiation behavior of metallic fuels. Important characteristics of metallic fuels such as fission product gas release, swelling, material redistribution, bonding sodium infiltration, and axial elongation are studied. Simple models have been developed for the SESAME code, which have been found to be successful in predicting irradiation data and useful in investigating the basic mechanisms that contribute to these particular irradiation behaviors of metallic fuels.
