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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.
Samim Anghaie, Zhongtao Ding
Nuclear Technology | Volume 120 | Number 1 | October 1997 | Pages 57-70
Technical Paper | Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35431
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A thermal-hydraulic model is developed to simulate and study the dynamic behavior of bulk evaporation and condensation processes in a multiphase nuclear fuel cell. The phase-change process is driven and controlled by internal heat generation and wall heat removal under constant volume condition. The modeling involves variable gravity conditions that allow for performance analysis of the multiphase nuclear fuel for terrestrial and space applications. A complete set of governing equations for both liquid and vapor phases is developed and numerically solved. The model is used to simulate the operation of a multiphase nuclear fuel cell at zero-gravity and microgravity levels. The temperature and phase distribution, the flow field, and the evolution of the liquid-vapor interface are computed and demonstrated.