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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.
Yoshiei Akiyama, Keiichi Hori, Keiji Miyazaki, Kaichiro Mishima, Shigekazu Sugiyama
Nuclear Technology | Volume 112 | Number 3 | December 1995 | Pages 412-421
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A35167
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The voidfraction measurement experiment of pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assemblies has been conducted since 1987 under the sponsorship of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry as a Japanese national project. Two types of test sections are used in this experiment. One is a 5 × 5 array rod bundle geometry, and the other is a single-channel geometry simulating one of the subchannels in the rod bundle. Wide gamma-ray beam scanners and narrow gamma-ray beam computed tomography scanners are used to measure the subchannel void fractions under various steady-state and transient conditions. The experimental data are expected to be used to develop a void fraction prediction model relevant to PWR fuel assemblies and also to verify or improve the subchannel analysis method. The first series of experiments was conducted in 1992, and a preliminary evaluation of the data has been performed. The preliminary results of these experiments are described.