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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.
Hiroshi Endo, Yoshio Kumaoka, Simcha Golan, Hiroshi Nakagawa
Nuclear Technology | Volume 99 | Number 3 | September 1992 | Pages 318-329
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34716
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A system dynamics analysis is applied to a pool-type fast breeder reactor to examine the influence of a bottom-supported reactor vessel (BSRV) design on anticipated transient without scram (ATWS) events such as an unprotected loss of flow (ULOF), an unprotected loss of heat sink (ULOHS), and an unprotected transient overpower (UTOP) by using the ARGO safety analysis code. The BSRV enhances negative feedback because of the differential displacement between the core and the control rod as compared with a top-supported reactor vessel. In particular, the BSRV has the potential, especially in a mixed-oxide-fueled core, to mitigate the design requirements to prevent boiling of the coolant during an ULOF and ULOHS through the elongation of the primary flow coastdown and enhancement of the axial expansion of the control rod drive line. In the metallic-fueled core, the effects of the BSRV on the ATWS events are diminished by the limitation of the sodium temperature increase.