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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.
Kostadin A. Dinov, Kazuo Kasahara
Nuclear Technology | Volume 115 | Number 1 | July 1996 | Pages 81-90
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT96-A35277
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A theoretical approach is discussed that regards the kinetically determined pressurized water reactor (PWR) primary system as a set of thermodynamically defined metastable states that the related high-temperature aqueous system containing a combination of possible oxide phases (NixFe3−xO4, Fe3O4, and metallic nickel or NiO) and corresponding dissolution products may undergo under specified initial conditions. The study shows that stability zones of those metastable states, particularly M1 (NixFe3−xO4) and M3 [Ni(m) + NixFe3−xO4], cover practically the entire PWR operational range and depend on specific plant conditions and applied chemistry control. The thermodynamic analysis is predicated on the belief that defining the stability transition boundary between those states — found as a function of temperature, coolant pH, dissolved hydrogen (DH), and ferrite stoichiometry (x value) — is of primary importance for corrosion product behavior. Such a stability change influences both the particulate and ionic levels and the related activity transport and should be regarded as an important factor in optimizing PWR primary chemistry. The study offers an original approach to reassessing such important issues as thermodynamic data and the solubility of spinel oxides, the role of transport of particulates and soluble species, “optimum” pH and DH, and the chemistry effect on crud burst.
