ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
M. J. Plaster, B. Basoglu, C. L. Bentley, M. E. Dunn, A. E. Ruggles, A. D. Wilkinson, T. Yamamoto, H. L. Dodds
Nuclear Technology | Volume 111 | Number 2 | August 1995 | Pages 219-226
Technical Paper | Nuclear Criticality Safety Special / Nuclear Criticality Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A35131
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A hypothetical nuclear criticality accident in a waste supercompactor is examined. The material being compressed in the compactor is a homogeneous mixture of beryllium and 239Pu. The point-kinetics equations with simple thermal-hydraulic feedback are used to model the transient behavior of the system. A lumped-parameter energy balance is used to determine the bulk temperature of the system. A computer code has been developed to solve the model equations. The computer code calculates the fission power history, fission yield, bulk temperature of the system, and several other thermal-hydraulic parameters of interest. Calculations have been performed for the waste supercompactor for various material misloading configurations. The peak power for the various accident scenarios varies from 1.04 × 1017 to 4.85 × 1020 fissions per second (fps). The total yield varies from 8.21 × 1017 to 7.73 × 1018 fissions, and the bulk temperature of the system varies from 412 to >912 K.
