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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.
Hirokazu Ohta, Takanari Ogata, Takeshi Yokoo, Michel Ougier, Jean-Paul Glatz, Bruno Fontaine, Laurent Breton
Nuclear Technology | Volume 165 | Number 1 | January 2009 | Pages 96-110
Technical Paper | Materials for Nuclear Systems | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A4063
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fast reactor metal fuels containing minor actinides (MAs) Np, Am, and Cm and/or rare earths (REs) have been irradiated in the fast reactor PHÉNIX to examine the effects of adding those elements on metal fuel irradiation behavior. In this experiment, two MA-containing metal fuel pins, in which the test alloys U-19Pu-10Zr-2MA-2RE and U-19Pu-10Zr-5MA/U-19Pu-10Zr-5MA-5RE (wt%) were loaded into part of a standard U-19Pu-10Zr alloy fuel stack, and a reference fuel pin of U-19Pu-10Zr alloy without MAs or REs was set in an irradiation capsule. Two other capsules with this same configuration are also irradiated. Postirradiation examinations are conducted at ~2.5, ~7, and ~11 at.% burnup. For the low-burnup fuel pins, nondestructive tests after irradiation have been performed, and the integrity of the pins was confirmed. The irradiation behavior of MA-containing metal fuels up to 2.5 at.% burnup was analyzed using the ALFUS code. The calculation results, such as the axial swelling distribution of a fuel slug or the extrusion behavior of bond sodium to the gas plenum, are consistent with the measurement data regardless of the addition of MAs and REs to the U-Pu-Zr alloy fuels. This observation result indicates that the macroscopic irradiation behavior of U-Pu-Zr fuels containing MAs and REs of 5 wt% or less is similar to that of U-Pu-Zr fuels up to ~2.5 at.% burnup.