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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.
Johan G. Visser, W. Paul M. Mercx, George L. C. M. Vayssier
Nuclear Technology | Volume 105 | Number 1 | January 1994 | Pages 59-69
Technical Paper | Special on Nuclear Criticality Safety / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A34911
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An extensive program of experimental work has been performed at the TNO Prins Maurits Laboratory on the quenching of hydrogen/air flames in various geometries on a medium scale by partial inertization. The main parameters investigated were the composition of the gas mixture and the measure of obstruction of the flow field in order to vary the degree of turbulence. The fuel concentration was varied between equivalence ratios of 0.25 and 1.00. The influence of carbon dioxide and nitrogen addition was investigated during separate trials. Both inert gases were added up to 30 vol% in the various geometrical arrangements. On the basis of an initial study by Sherman et al., a basic methodology has been developed for the estimation of explosion effects of hydrogen/air/inert mixtures. The method is a simplification of the actual processes during the experiments and is therefore only indicative. It is intended to be used by those who are not expert in the field. Knowledge of the gas composition can be used to safety advise applications on a large scale, on the basis of four conservatively chosen regimes of explosion severity.