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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.
Shinya Miyahara, Kazuo Haga, Yoshiaki Himeno
Nuclear Technology | Volume 97 | Number 2 | February 1992 | Pages 212-226
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34617
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of tests is conducted to study the mechanical release behavior of sodium aerosols containing nonvolatile fission products during a sodium-concrete reaction in which release behavior due to hydrodynamic breakup of the hydrogen bubble is predominant at the sodium pool surface. In the tests, nonradioactive materials, namely, strontium oxide, europium oxide, and ruthenium particles, whose sizes range from a few microns to several tens of microns, are used as nonvolatile fission product simulants. The following results are obtained: 1. The sodium aerosol release rate during the sodium-concrete reaction is larger than that of natural evaporation. The difference, however, becomes smaller with increasing sodium temperature: nearly ten times smaller at 400°C and three times at 700°C. 2. The retention factors for the nonvolatile materials in the sodium pool increase to the range of 0.5 to 104 with an increase in the sodium temperature from 400 to 700° C.