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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.
Gunji Nishio, Noboru Yamazaki
Nuclear Technology | Volume 102 | Number 2 | May 1993 | Pages 232-251
Technical Paper | Enrichment and Reprocessing System | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34819
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The FACE computer code was developed to calculate postulated solvent fire behavior in the extraction process of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. The FACE code calculates temperature, pressure, and off-gasflow rate by one- and two-dimensional thermofluid analyses. The code uses this information to evaluate the safety of the associated air ventilation system as demonstrated by its ability to confine the fire-generated radioactive particles by transport, deposition, and filtration of smoke. The mathematical models in FACE were verified by comparison of FACE calculations with the results of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute fire demonstration tests simulating a hypothetical solvent fire accident in the extraction process.
