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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.
Hangbok Choi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 204 | Number 3 | December 2018 | Pages 283-298
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1484646
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The performance of uranium-plutonium mixed carbide fuel was analyzed based on experimental data produced from the Japan Research Reactor No. 2, the Japan Materials Testing Reactor, and the Fast Flux Test Facility irradiation tests during 1983 to 1992. The analysis includes a review of earlier fuel irradiation test results, material property data, and physics models, and a simulation by a finite element method fuel performance code FEMAXI-6GA to predict the historic results. The simulation results were compared to the measured fission gas release, fuel swelling, and dimensional change of the cladding. The simulation results are reasonably consistent with the measurement. However, a few differences between the simulations and measurements were encountered, which are attributed to the lack of detailed experimental conditions, characteristics of fuel materials, material property data, and physics models. Based on sensitivity analyses of the results to experimental conditions and material property data, it is recommended to develop an experimental plan for the systematic measurements of thermal conductivity, including the effect of porosity, impurities, and stoichiometry, fission gas diffusion, and irradiation-induced swelling and densification, supplemented by advanced modeling and simulation techniques to support advanced fuel development in a cost-effective way.