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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.
Jia (Jason) Hou, Hangbok Choi, Kostadin Ivanov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 186 | Number 3 | June 2014 | Pages 305-316
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-137
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A lattice code, MICROX-2, was assessed for its neutronics calculation performance with new cross-section libraries. First, the new cross-section libraries were generated based on ENDF/B-VII release 0. A total of 386 nuclides were processed, including 10 thermal scattering nuclides. The updated NJOY system and MICROR code were used to process nuclear data and convert them into the MICROX-2 library format. The energy group structure of the new library was optimized for both the thermal and fast neutron spectrum systems based on the Contributon and Pointwise Cross Section Driven (CPXSD) method, resulting in a total of 1173 energy groups. Second, a series of pin-cell–level benchmark calculations was performed against experimental measurements and numerical calculations performed by the deterministic and Monte Carlo codes for multiplication factors and reaction rate ratios. Both the homogeneous and heterogeneous pin-cell calculations were conducted for 15 cases. The results of MICROX-2 calculations show good agreement with the reference values. The arithmetic average errors of k∞ for the homogeneous and heterogeneous lattices are 0.30% and 0.44%, respectively. For the finite lattices (five cases for water reactor fuels), the average error of keff is 0.32%. These errors are due to the combined effect of the solution method and the cross-section library. Especially for the fast reactor cases, the prediction of the physics parameter by MICROX-2 deteriorates when the fuel volume increases, which is mostly due to the simplified resonance self-shielding model.