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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.
Hitesh Rajput, Tanmoy Som, Soumitra Kar
Nuclear Technology | Volume 192 | Number 2 | November 2015 | Pages 125-132
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-154
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fuel used in nuclear reactors contains fissile material. The fission process releases a huge amount of energy, and hence, the fissioning components must be held in a robust form capable of enduring high operating temperatures and an intense radiation environment. The shape and integrity of the fuel structures must be maintained over a period of several years within the reactor core to prevent the leakage of fission products into the reactor coolant. Further, the fuel rods must be in a nondistorted state for proper alignment in the fuel assembly to ensure proper fuel bundle power distribution. Improper core power distribution can breach the safety and operational limits on fuel and channel powers. The strategy discussed includes the methodology to verify the fuel assembly using image processing techniques. The methodology uses the Radon transform and contains four phases: image reading, preprocessing, Radon transform, and verification. The approach has been validated on 1026 fuel assemblies of a nuclear power plant, for which experimental results are shown.