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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.
David A. White, Suttichai Assabumrungrat, Ahmad Moheb
Nuclear Technology | Volume 120 | Number 2 | November 1997 | Pages 149-157
Technical Paper | Radioisotopes and Isotope | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35423
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The methodology for the optimization of an electrolytic plant for the production of deuterium is described. The basis of the optimization is to minimize the amount of electricity used in the electrolytic process, and this is assumed to be proportional to the total amount of gas evolution from the plant. Because the plant consists of two sections, i.e., the feed cascade and the reflux cascade, the conditions where the amount of gas evolution in each cascade is minimum were developed separately. The no-entropy condition, where two feed streams fed to a stage must have the same composition, was used in the optimization of the reflux cascade. From the results of the optimization, it was found that the location of the feed inlet to the reflux cascade and the number of stages in the reflux cascade are the major parameters in the optimization and, also, that the number of stages in the feed cascade does not significantly affect the optimum gas evolution results.