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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.
Almir Fernandes, Sudarshan K. Loyalka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 116 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 270-282
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT96-A35283
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Aerosol released in postulated or real nuclear reactor accidents can deposit on containment surfaces via motion induced by temperature gradients in addition to the motion due to diffusion and gravity. The deposition due to temperature gradients is known as thermophoretic deposition, and it is currently modeled in codes such as CONTAIN in direct analogy with heat transfer, but there have been questions about such analogies. This paper focuses on a numerical solution of the particle continuity equation in laminar flow condition characteristics of natural convection. First, the thermophoretic deposition rate is calculated as a function of the Prandtl and Schmidt numbers, the thermophoretic coefficient K, and the temperature difference between the atmosphere and the wall. Then, the cases of diffusion alone and a boundary-layer approximation (due to Batchelor and Shen) to the full continuity equation are considered. It is noted that an analogy with heat transfer does not hold, but for the circumstances considered in this paper, the deposition rates from the diffusion solution and the boundary-layer approximation can be added to provide reasonably good agreement (maximum deviation 30%) with the full solution of the particle continuity equation. Finally, correlations useful for implementation in the reactor source term codes are provided.