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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.
Victor Ignatiev, Aleksandr Surenkov, Ivan Gnidoi, Vladimir Fedulov, Vadim Uglov, Valery Afonichkin, Andrei Bovet, Vladimir Subbotin, Aleksandr Panov, Andrei Toropov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 164 | Number 1 | October 2008 | Pages 130-142
Technical Paper | Icapp '06 | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A4014
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the last years, there has been a real growth of interest in the use of high-temperature molten salt fluorides as coolants and fuel salts in nuclear power systems. For all molten salt reactor (MSR) concepts, material selection is a very important issue. This paper summarizes results of recent work done within the ISTC#1606 project and the present state of knowledge about container materials for MSRs. The central focus is the compatibility of Ni-based alloys with the molten Li,Na,Be/F salt system as applied to the primary circuit of the MOlten Salt Actinide Recycler & Transmuter (MOSART) fueled with different compositions of actinide trifluorides from light water reactor spent fuel without U-Th support. Results from recent studies with a Li,Na,Be/F thermal convection loop at temperatures up to 700°C are presented. Material specimens of three modified Hastelloy N alloys, particularly HN80M-VI with 1% of Nb, HN80MTY with 1% of Al, and MONICR with 2% of Fe, were used for our study in corrosion facilities. Methods to purify the molten salt composition and to improve Ni-based container alloy compatibility by maintaining the salt at a low redox potential are discussed. The effect on materials compatibility of adding plutonium trifluoride and tellurium to the Li,Na,Be/F solvent system is also considered. Last, testing of advanced Ni-based alloys with various compositions to enhance first of all its resistance to tellurium intergranular cracking should be continued in thermal convection loops with a long exposure time for the MOSART fuel salts as well as the novel nonmoderated thorium sustainable MSR concept in the framework of the new ISTC#3749 project.