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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.
Gyuhong Roh, Hangbok Choi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 146 | Number 3 | June 2004 | Pages 303-324
Technical Paper | Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3508
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As a part of the compatibility analysis of DUPIC fuel in Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) reactors, the radiation physics calculations have been performed for the CANDU primary shielding system, which was originally designed for natural uranium core. At first, the conventional CANDU primary shield analysis method was validated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP-4B in order to assess the current analysis code system and the cross-section data. The computational benchmark calculation was performed for the CANDU end shield system, which has shown that the conventional method produces results consistent with the reference calculations as far as the total dose rate and total heat deposition rate are concerned. Second, the primary shield system analysis was performed for the DUPIC fuel core based on the power distribution obtained from the time-average core model, and the results have shown that the dose rates and heat deposition rates through the primary shield of the DUPIC fuel core are not much different from those of the natural uranium core because the power levels on the core periphery are similar for both cores. This study has shown that the current primary shield system is adaptable for the DUPIC fuel CANDU core without design modification.