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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.
Michio Sadatomi, Akimaro Kawahara, Tsukasa Kuno, Keiko Kano
Nuclear Technology | Volume 152 | Number 1 | October 2005 | Pages 23-37
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT152-23
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To improve a void drift model used in a subchannel analysis, new experimental data are obtained for air-water two-phase flows in a vertical 2 × 3 rod channel consisting of six subchannels simulating a square array boiling water reactor fuel rod bundle. The data include the axial redistributions of flow rates of both phases and void fraction in the respective subchannels. By fitting the above data with the Lahey and Moody void settling model, we have determined a void diffusion coefficient in their model. It is found that the void diffusion coefficient for slug, churn, and annular flows could be well correlated in terms of a turbulent Peclet number developed in our previous study. Furthermore, a subchannel analysis code based on a two-fluid model proposed in our previous study is examined against the present data. In the code, the void settling model is incorporated with usual conservation equations of mass and momentum. From the examination, it is found that the subchannel analysis code can predict well the data on subchannel flow and void fraction for the 2 × 3 rod channel if appropriate correlations are adopted to evaluate wall and interfacial friction forces needed in the two-fluid model.