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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.
Yoko Kobayashi, Eitaro Aiyoshi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 151 | Number 1 | July 2005 | Pages 77-85
Technical Paper | Advances in Nuclear Fuel Management - Light Water Reactor Reloading Optimization | doi.org/10.13182/NT05-A3633
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Multistate searching methods are a subfield of distributed artificial intelligence that aims to provide both principles for construction of complex systems involving multiple states and mechanisms for coordination of independent agents' actions. This paper proposes a multistate searching algorithm with reinforcement learning for the automatic core design of a boiling water reactor. The characteristics of this algorithm are that the coupling structure and the coupling operation suitable for the assigned problem are assumed and an optimal solution is obtained by mutual interference in multistate transitions using multiagents. Calculations in an actual plant confirmed that the proposed algorithm increased the convergence ability of the optimization process.