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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.
Johannes Prock, Eggert Ohlmer, Michael Labeit
Nuclear Technology | Volume 97 | Number 1 | January 1992 | Pages 52-62
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34625
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A computer program for the detection of abrupt changes in nonhardware redundant measurement signals that uses different methods of analytical redundancy is developed by the Gesellschaft für Reaktorsicherheit, Garching, Federal Republic of Germany. This program, instrumental fault detection and identification (IFDI) module, validates in real time output signals of power plant components that are scanned at a fixed rate. The IFDI module, implemented on an IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) with an 80386 processor, is tested on-line at the light water reactor off-normal behavior investigations (LOBI)-MOD2 facility in the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy, during the loss-offeedwater experiment BT-15/BT-16 on November 22, 1990. The measurement signals validated by the IFDI module originate from one of the two LOBI-MOD2 facility’s steam generators. During the experiment, sensor faults are simulated by falsifying the measurement signals through electrical resistances arranged in series. Questions about the signal validation software and the steam generator’s model are dealt with briefly, while the experimental environment and the results obtained are discussed in detail.