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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.
Daniel Magallon, Hermann Hohmann, Hubert Schins
Nuclear Technology | Volume 98 | Number 1 | April 1992 | Pages 79-90
Technical Paper | Fast Reactor Safety / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34652
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two experiments known as Tl and T2 are performed in the test section TERMOS of the FARO facility. Quantities of the order of 100 kg of molten pure UO2 ∼3000°C are poured into 130 kg of sodium at 400°C and 0.1 MPa contained in a 0.28-m-diam test tube over a height of 2.5 m. The tests show a melt delivery rate twice as high in T2 as in Tl. Because of the large scale of the experiment, the tests reveal new features concerning this type of interaction. Particularly, fuel/coolant interaction (FCI) occurs that induces stepwise penetration and dispersion of the melt, and a limitation of the melt quantity that could penetrate into the sodium. Sodium pressure peaks up to 6.0 MPa and pressurizations of the 0.150-m3 gas phase blanket up to 0.8 MPa are recorded. These FCIs are interpreted as vapor explosions in nearly saturated sodium. Quantities of 60 kg for Tl and 45 kg for T2 of UO2 fragments are collected in the debris catcher located at the bottom of the test tube. A debris bed structure resulting from this type of interaction is identified and characterized. Porosity is almost constant all over the bed height while permeability increases by a factor of 30 when going from the top to the bottom of the bed.