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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.
G. R. Ansarifar, M. H. Esteki, M. Zaidabadi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 195 | Number 1 | July 2016 | Pages 105-109
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-90
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Dual-cooled annular nuclear fuel, which is an internally and externally cooled annular fuel, has many advantages for heat transfer. One of the most prominent of these advantages is the ability to harvest more of this type of fuel, which can increase the thermal power of nuclear plants. In this technical note, the core of a VVER-1000 reactor is designed based on the use of internally and externally cooled annular fuels. The thermal-hydraulic parameters of the fuel rods in this type of reactor are analyzed. In addition, the uprate of the thermal power in a VVER-1000 reactor using annular fuels is investigated. For this purpose, first, the proper pitch length of fuel rods in the core is designed under clean and cold conditions using cell and core neutronics calculation codes. Then, thermal-hydraulic calculations are performed for a simulated fuel rod in a hot channel using computational fluid dynamics simulation codes. These calculations are compared with a conventional VVER-1000 reactor that does not use this kind of fuel. One of the most important results of the analysis is that annular fuel shows a sufficient margin for the departure from nucleate boiling and fuel pellet temperature relative to cylindrical fuel. The margin seems viable in accommodating a 129% power uprate.