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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.
A. V. Kiryukhin, E. P. Kaymin, E. V. Zakharova
Nuclear Technology | Volume 164 | Number 2 | November 2008 | Pages 196-206
Technical Paper | Tough206 | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A4019
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
TOUGHREACT V1.0 modeling was used to reproduce laboratory tests involving sandstone samples collected from a deep radionuclide repository site at the Siberia Chemical Plant, Seversk, Russia. Laboratory tests included injection of alkaline fluids into sandstone samples at 70°C. Some minerals were constrained in the model to precipitate or dissolve, according to laboratory test results. Modeling results were compared with observed test data (mineral phase changes, transient concentration data at the outlet of a sample column). Reasonable agreement was obtained between calculated and measured mineral phases (Na-smectite and kaolinite precipitation, quartz, microcline, chlorite, and muscovite dissolution). After a cation exchange option was used in the model, the most abundant secondary mineral generated was dawsonite, which corresponds to sodium carbonates observed in the sample after an injection test. Time-dependent chemical concentrations (transient chemical concentration data) at the outlet of the sample column qualitatively matched the data observed.