ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Y. Liao, K. Vierow
Nuclear Technology | Volume 152 | Number 3 | December 2005 | Pages 302-313
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT05-5
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A pressurized water reactor steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) is of concern because it represents a bypass of the containment for radioactive materials to the environment. In a station blackout accident, tube integrity could be threatened by creep rupture, particularly if cracks are present in the tube walls. Methods are developed herein to improve assessment capabilities for SGTR by using the severe-accident code MELCOR. Best-estimate assumptions based on recent research and computational fluid dynamics calculations are applied in the MELCOR analysis to simulate two-dimensional natural circulation and to determine the relative creep-rupture timing in the reactor coolant pressure boundary components. A new method is developed to estimate the steam generator (SG) hottest tube wall temperature and the tube critical crack size for the SG tubes to fail first. The critical crack size for SG tubes to fail first is estimated to be 20% of the wall thickness larger than by a previous analysis. Sensitivity studies show that the failure sequence would change if some assumptions are modified. In particular, the uncertainty in the countercurrent flow limit model could reverse the failure sequence of the SG tubes and surge line.