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.
Carl Sunde, Christophe Demazière, Imre Pázsit
Nuclear Technology | Volume 154 | Number 2 | May 2006 | Pages 129-141
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-1
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The subject of this paper is the calculation of the in-core neutron noise induced by the shell-mode vibrations of the core barrel. The original motivation was to investigate whether an out-of-phase behavior can exist between the in-core and ex-core (ex-vessel) detectors lying at the same azimuthal position. To this end, a two-region two-group diffusion model was used in one dimension. The noise was calculated by representing the vibrations of the core barrel by a model developed earlier to describe control rod vibrations. It was found that such an out-of-phase behavior indeed exists, although only for in-core detector positions close to the core boundary. This behavior is due to the local component of the noise, which is accounted for in a two-group treatment. The finding is in accordance with the experiment whose result prompted the present work. In addition to its effect on the phase, the local component also manifests itself by a large amplitude of the noise around the vibrating core boundary, i.e., in both the core and the reflector. The appearance and the properties of the local component of the neutron noise for core-barrel vibrations is the main finding of this paper. The results suggest that the efficiency of core-barrel vibrations can be enhanced if in addition to the ex-core detectors, the in-core detectors in the outermost fuel assemblies are used.