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.
Sung Ho Lee, Geun Il Park, Sung Bin Park
Nuclear Technology | Volume 191 | Number 2 | August 2015 | Pages 167-173
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-87
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Pyroprocessing technology is one of the most promising technologies for many advanced fuel cycle scenarios with favorable economic potential and intrinsic proliferation resistance. In pyroprocessing technology, the development of high-temperature transport technologies for molten salt is a crucial prerequisite and a key issue in the industrialization of pyroreprocessing. However, there have been a few transport studies on high-temperature molten salt. Three different salt transport technologies (gravity, suction pump, and centrifugal pump) were investigated to select the most suitable method for LiCl-KCl molten salt transport. The suction pump transport method was selected for molten salt transport owing to its flexibility. An apparatus for suction transport experiments was designed and installed for the development of high-temperature molten salt transport technology. Several preliminary suction transport experiments were carried out using the prepared LiCl-KCl eutectic salt at 773 K to observe the transport behavior of LiCl-KCl molten salt. For the experiments, ∼2 kg of LiCl-KCl eutectic salt was prepared by mixing 99.0% purity LiCl and KCl and drying in a convection dry oven at 473 K for 1 h. The experimental results of a laboratory-scale molten salt transport using a suction method showed a 99.5% transport rate (ratio of transported salt to total salt) under a vacuum range of 0.0133 to 1.33 kPa at 773 K. From experimental results on the mass flow rate according to suction transport time, the mass flow rate according to suction time is 1.54 kg/min. In addition, to establish engineering-scale salt transport technology, the PRIDE salt transport system was designed and installed in an Ar cell, on the second floor of the PRIDE facility, for engineering-scale salt transport demonstration, and its performance was confirmed.