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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.
Hideo Ezure
Nuclear Technology | Volume 91 | Number 3 | September 1990 | Pages 311-344
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34455
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method for calculating the depletion and production of uranium, plutonium, transplutonium nuclides, and fission products (DPUFP) in a boiling water reactor was evaluated using measured values for JPDR-1 nuclear fuel. The results show that (a) a three-dimensional nuclear thermohydrodynamic calculation is required for an accurate estimate, (b) the void fraction of a fuel assembly has a large effect on the production of transplutonium nuclides, (c) the measured values can be applied universally by correcting the irradiation and cooling histories and the effect of the neutron spectrum, (d) more reliable DPUFPs are obtained by closely correlating the calculated value of 134Cs/137Cs with the measured values, and (e) the effective neutron cross sections of uranium and plutonium can be obtained using the measured values.
