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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.
Heemoon Kim, Kwangheon Park, Bong Goo Kim, Yong Sun Choo, Keon Sik Kim, Kun Woo Song, Kwon Pyo Hong, Young Hwan Kang, Kwangil Ho
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 1 | July 2004 | Pages 149-156
Technical Paper | Thoria-Urania NERI | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3521
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Postirradiation annealing tests were performed to obtain the 133Xe diffusion coefficients in uranium dioxide (UO2) and mixed thorium-uranium dioxide [(Th-U)O2] fuels. Specimens were a single-grained UO2, a polycrystalline UO2, and a polycrystalline (Th-U)O2. The (Th-U)O2 specimen was a mixture of 35% ThO2 and 65% UO2. Each 300-mg specimen was irradiated to a burnup of 0.1 MWd/t U. Postirradiation annealing tests were performed at 1400, 1500, and 1600°C, continuously. The xenon diffusion coefficients for the nearly stoichiometric single-grained UO2 agree well with the data of others. The xenon diffusion coefficients in the polycrystalline (Th-U)O2 are approximately one order lower than those in the polycrystalline UO2. The xenon diffusion coefficient in the (Th-U)O2 increases with the increasing oxygen potential of the ambient gas.