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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.
Borut Mavko, Andrej Prošek, Francesco D’auria
Nuclear Technology | Volume 120 | Number 1 | October 1997 | Pages 1-18
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35427
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Quantitative evaluation of thermal-hydraulic code uncertainties is a necessary step in the code assessment process, especially if best-estimate codes are utilized for licensing purposes. With the goal of quantifying code accuracy, researchers in the past developed a methodology based on the fast Fourier transform (FFT) that consisted of qualitative and quantitative code assessment. Here, the FFT-based method is applied to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-Standard Problem Exercise (SPE)-4 test results with pre- and posttest code calculations of the IAEA-SPE-4 experiment. Four system codes (ATHLET, CATHARE, MELCOR, and RELAP5) are used for calculations of the experiment, performed at the PMK-2 facility, which simulated a cold-leg break in a WER-440 plant. The results show that the posttest calculations had better accuracy than did the pretest calculations. None of the best three pre- and posttest calculations were able to predict core dryout, which was the most important phenomenon observed during the test. The results obtained can give an objective indication of the capability of the aforementioned codes in predicting relevant variables characterizing the transient (too few experimental parameters may limit full application of the FFT-based methodology).