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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.
Kazuyuki Takase
Nuclear Technology | Volume 118 | Number 2 | May 1997 | Pages 175-185
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35377
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Thermal-hydraulic characteristics in a spacer-ribbed annular fuel channel for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors were analyzed numerically by three-dimensional computations under a fully developed turbulent flow. The two-equation k-є turbulence model was applied in the present turbulent analysis, and the turbulence model constants for eddy viscosity and the turbulent Prandtl number were improved from the previous standard values to increase the accuracy of numerical simulations. Consequently, heat transfer coefficients and friction factors in the spacer-ribbed fuel channel were predicted with sufficient accuracy in the range of Reynolds number >3000. It was clarified quantitatively that the main mechanism for heat transfer augmentation in the spacer-ribbed fuel channel was a combined effect of the turbulence promoter effect by the spacer rib and the velocity acceleration effect by a reduction in the channel cross section.