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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.
Benjamin C. Bowers, Bojan Petrovic
Nuclear Technology | Volume 189 | Number 2 | February 2015 | Pages 186-201
Technical Note | Radiation Transport and Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-162
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
New computational methods in dose assessment and shielding calculations have drastically increased possible accuracy and resolution of the solution, while also increasing both memory demand and running time. In many cases, a trade-off must occur between these two parameters due to limited computational resources. This becomes prominent, particularly in hybrid deterministic-stochastic methods used for automated variance reduction, where the trade-off is additionally sought between the importance-generating deterministic portion and actual Monte Carlo simulations. This technical note examines this trade-off for the FW-CADIS methodology implemented in the MAVRIC (Monaco with Automated Variance Reduction using Importance Calculations) module of SCALE6, applying it to a simplified model of a power reactor. For the purposes of this study, the allowed total CPU time was held constant (12 and 48 h). It was found that improving the accuracy of the deterministic portion (within the single-processor limitation of the program version used) at the cost of reducing the available time for Monte Carlo was beneficial for the overall efficiency. While the analysis is specific to the selected problem, it is expected that the findings in a broader sense are relevant for other similar hybrid shielding methodologies and applications.