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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.
Motoo Fumizawa, Makoto Hishida
Nuclear Technology | Volume 109 | Number 1 | January 1995 | Pages 123-131
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A35072
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Air ingress by buoyancy-driven exchange flow occurs during a standpipe rupture accident in a high-temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR). The exchange flow of helium and air through annular and Round tubes is investigated. The method of mass increment is applied to measure the exchange flow rate. A test cylinder with a small tube on the top is used for the experiment. The following results were obtained: The exchange velocity is largest for the short vertical round tube as compared with the orifice and long tube. In the annular tube, the exchange-velocity or the volumetric exchange flow rate decreases with the equivalent diameter of the annular passage under 6 mm. The annular tube is effective to reduce the air ingress flow rate from the broken standpipe of the HTTR. In the inclined round tube, the inclination angle for the maximum densimetric Froude number decreases with the increase of the length-to-diameter ratio of the tube for the helium-air system. On the other hand, this angle remains almost constant for the water-brine system. Flow visualization results indicate that the exchange flows through the inclined round tubes take place smoothly and stably in the separated passage of the tube. The flow pattern in the vertical annular tube seems to be similar to that in the inclined round tube.