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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.
Werner Maschek, Claus Dieter Munz, Leonhard Meyer
Nuclear Technology | Volume 98 | Number 1 | April 1992 | Pages 27-43
Technical Paper | Fast Reactor Safety / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34648
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Analyses of unprotected loss-of-flow accidents for medium-size cores of current liquid-metal fast breeder reactors have shown that the accident proceeds into a transition phase where further meltdown is accompanied by recriticalities and secondary excursions. Assuming very pessimistic conditions concerning fuel discharge and blockage formation, a neutronically active whole-core pool of molten material can form. Neutronic or thermohydraulic disturbances may initiate a special motion pattern in these pools, called centralized sloshing, which can lead to energetic power excursions. If such a whole-core pool is formed, its energetic potential must be adequately assessed. This requires sufficiently correct theoretical tools (codes) and proper consideration of the fluid-dynamic and thermohydraulic conditions of these pools. A series of experiments has been performed that serves as a benchmark for the SIMMER-II and the AFDM codes in assessing their adequacy in modeling such sloshing motions. Additional phenomenologically oriented experiments provide deeper insight into general motion patterns of sloshing fluids while taking special notice of asymmetries and obstacles that exist in such pools.