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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.
Martin G. Plys
Nuclear Technology | Volume 101 | Number 3 | March 1993 | Pages 400-410
Technical Paper | Severe Accident Technology / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34796
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Hydrogen production and combustion during hypothetical severe nuclear reactor accidents are discussed from the perspective of integral predictive assessment of such accidents. Unmitigated hydrogen production after prolonged core dryout has the adverse impacts of accelerating the degradation of core geometry, reducing heat transfer area, and impeding the in-vessel recovery of an accident. Unmitigated hydrogen combustion can, in certain circumstances, lead to containment failure, or it could damage equipment and thereby impede recovery. The phenomena of in-vessel hydrogen generation and combustion are summarized, including recent experiments, and selected models for integral predictive assessment of these phenomena are described. Adequacies and shortcomings of models and the experimental data base are identified, and the effects of mitigation are discussed.