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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.
Sule Ergun, Jason G. Williams, Lawrence E. Hochreiter, Hergen Wiersema, Marcel Slootman, Marek Stempniewicz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 163 | Number 2 | August 2008 | Pages 273-284
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A3987
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this study, calculations were performed to simulate a postulated large-break loss-of-coolant accident for the High Flux Reactor (HFR) cooling system using the COBRA-TF computer code. COBRA-TF has been chosen for this analysis since it has suitable and validated two-phase flow models and critical heat flux (CHF) correlations for channels having small hydraulic diameters. Calculations have been performed to determine the CHF margins for the HFR. Six types of calculations were performed to provide a range of CHF margins. All COBRA-TF calculations indicate that margin does exist to the CHF limit for the small-hydraulic-diameter highest-power HFR channel. The range of margin is 2.1 to 1.3 times the nominal power of the highest power channel, depending on the boundary conditions and CHF correlation used. The range of margin identified in the HFR analysis is consistent with the margin values used in commercial nuclear power plants.