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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.
T. A. Taiwo, E. A. Hoffman, R. N. Hill, W. S. Yang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 155 | Number 1 | July 2006 | Pages 55-66
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3745
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Transuranics (TRU) breakeven and burner core designs have been studied for the Pebble-Bed Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (PB-GCFR), which was developed under a 2-yr U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Research Initiative project. The issues of minimizing waste production, fuel cost, and burnup reactivity swing, and maximizing TRU burning have been investigated primarily from a neutronics viewpoint. For TRU breakeven cores, it was found that for the given core power [300 MW(thermal)] and power density (50 MW/m3), the lowest amount of radiotoxic TRU to be processed is obtained for a long-life (single-batch) core of 30-yr duration. Minimizing the TRU processed results in a minimization of the TRU losses that ultimately will have to be entombed in a geologic repository.The results show that the single-batch, long-life PB-GCFR could be designed to operate over a wide range of cycle lengths and fuel loadings. By modifying the TRU feed to have a higher minor actinide (MA) fraction than contained in light water reactor spent fuel, the burnup reactivity swing for the long-life core can be reduced significantly. With this approach, it is also possible to configure the long-life PB-GCFR core as a TRU burner using nonuranium fuel. A nonuranium fuel PB-GCFR with 24% plutonium and 76% MAs can operate for 17 full-power years and achieve 25% burnup with a reactivity swing of 3%k.
