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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.
Hidematsu Ikeda, Naotake Katoh
Nuclear Technology | Volume 118 | Number 1 | April 1997 | Pages 32-41
Technical Paper | Kiyose Birthday Anniversary Special / Enrichment and Reprocessing System | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35354
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An application of a modern control to a pulsed column is considered. Experimentally, a finite time settling control (FTSC) with finite time settling observer (FTSO) algorithms as a modern control scheme for a single loop controller of pulsed columns was selected. The FTSC with FTSO algorithms in this study was based on the step response pattern such as the dynamic behavior for the transfer function. The control objective was to keep the solute concentration in the product stream. First, the control system was designed from the measurement data of a step response using 30% trin-butylphosphate in a kerosene-acetic acid-water system. Then, the control algorithms were applied to the Purex liquid system using the published experimental data of uranium concentration during a transient operation. The controllabilities of pulsed columns are discussed in the direct digital control simulation studies.