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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.
Masafumi Nakatsuka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 103 | Number 3 | September 1993 | Pages 426-433
Technical Note | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34863
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Embrittlement of Zircaloy fuel cladding tubes by corrosion media was studied from the viewpoint of its applicability to spent-fuel reprocessing. The results from irradiated as well as unirradiated tubes are summarized as follows: 1.When iodine was employed as the solute, the use of methanol as the solvent caused significant embrittlement of the Zircaloy. 2.For the iodine-methanol solution, the embrittlement increased with the iodine content but saturated at 1 wt%. 3.A water content of up to 10 vol% in the iodine-methanol solution did not decrease the extent of embrittlement. 4.Fracture was of the grain-boundary type, and a fuel cladding tube irradiated to ∼35 GWd/t showed the same embrittlement behavior as an unirradiated one.