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.
Jun Chen, Humberto E. Garcia, Jong Suk Kim, Shannon M. Bragg-Sitton
Nuclear Technology | Volume 195 | Number 2 | August 2016 | Pages 143-156
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-130
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Nuclear hybrid energy systems (NHESs) have been proposed as an effective element to incorporate high penetration of clean energy (e.g., nuclear and renewable). This paper focuses on the operations optimization of two specific NHES configurations to address the variability raised from wholesale electricity markets and renewable generation. Both analytical and numerical approaches are used to obtain the optimal operations schedule. Key economic figures of merit are evaluated under optimized and constant (i.e., time-invariant) operations to demonstrate the benefit of the optimization, which also suggests the economic viability of the considered NHESs under the proposed operations optimizer. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis on commodity prices is conducted for better understanding of the considered NHESs.