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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.
Jeffrey A. Borkowski, Gordon E. Robinson, Anthony J. Baratta, Matthew Kattic
Nuclear Technology | Volume 103 | Number 1 | July 1993 | Pages 34-48
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34828
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Boiling water nuclear reactors (BWRs) may experience density wave instabilities. These instabilities cause the density, and consequently the mass flow rate, to oscillate in the shrouded fuel bundles. This effect causes the nuclear power generation to oscillate because of the tight coupling of flow to power, especially under gravity-driven circulation. To predict the amplitude of the power oscillation, a time domain transient analysis tool may be employed. The modeling tool must have sufficient hydrodynamic detail to model natural circulation in two-phase flow as well as the coupled nuclear feedback. TRAC/BF1 is a modeling code with such capabilities. A dynamic system model is developed for a typical BWR. Using this tool, it is demonstrated that density waves may be modeled in this fashion and that their resultant hydrodynamic and nuclear behavior correspond well to simple theory. Several cases are analyzed using this model, the goal being to determine the coupling between the channel hydrodynamics and the nuclear power. As predicted by others, the two-phase friction controls the extent of the oscillation. Because of this sensitivity, existing conventional methodologies of implementing two-phase friction into analysis codes of this type can lead to significant deviation in results from one case to another. It is found that higher dimensional nuclear feedback models reduce the extent of the oscillation.