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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.
Randall D. Manteufel, Neil E. Todreas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 105 | Number 3 | March 1994 | Pages 421-440
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A34941
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An effective thermal conductivity (keff) and an edge thermal conductance (hedge) model are developed for the interior and edge regions of a spent-fuel assembly residing in an enclosure. The model includes conductive and radiative modes of heat transfer. Predictions using the proposed keff/hedge model are compared with five sets of experimental data for validation. The model is compared with predictions generated by the engine maintenance, assembly, and disassembly (E-MAD) and Wooton-Epstein correlations, which represent the state of the art in this field. The model is applied to a typical pressurized water reactor and a typical boiling water reactor spent fuel assembly, and a set of both nonlinear and linear formulations of the model are derived. The proposed model is based on rigorous models of the governing heat transfer mechanisms and can be applied to a large range of assembly and enclosure types, enclosure temperatures, and assembly decay heat values. The proposed model is more accurate than comparable lumped correlations and is more amenable for simple, repetitive design applications than other detailed numerical models.
