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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.
W. M. Stacey, K. A. Boakye, S. K. Brashear, A. C. Bryson, K. A. Burns, E. J. Bruch, S. A. Chandler, O. M. Chen, S. S. Chiu, J.-P. Floyd, C. J. Fong, S. P. Hamilton, P. B. Johnson, S. M. Jones, M. Kato, B. A. MacLaren, R. P. Manger, B. L. Meriwether, C. Mitra, K. R. Riggs, B. H. Shrader, J. C. Schulz, C. M. Sommer, T. S. Sumner, J. S. Wagner, J. B. Weathers, C. P. Wells, F. H. Willis, Z. W. Friis, J. I. Marquez-Danian, R. W. Johnson, C. de Oliveira, H. K. Park, D. W. Tedder
Nuclear Technology | Volume 159 | Number 1 | July 2007 | Pages 72-105
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT07-A3857
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The design concept for a subcritical, He-cooled, fast reactor, fueled with transuranics (TRUs) from spent nuclear fuel in coated TRISO particles and driven by a tokamak D-T fusion neutron source, is being developed at Georgia Institute of Technology. The basic concept has been developed in two previous papers. This paper reports (a) advances in the design concept intended to enable achievement of "deep-burn" of the TRUs and passive safety, (b) investigations of the possibility of reprocessing the TRISO TRU fuel and of extending the strength of the fusion neutron source, (c) more extensive analyses to confirm and improve the design with respect to the adequacy of the fuel and nuclear performance, heat removal, tritium self-sufficiency and shielding, (d) more extensive analyses to confirm that the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor divertor, magnet and heating/current drive systems can be adapted, and (e) fuel cycle analyses to further investigate the contribution that such a reactor could make to closing the nuclear fuel cycle.