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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.
Yuan Zhou, Bing Chen, Hongyu He, Bo Li, Xinlin Wang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 1 | January 2020 | Pages 32-39
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1613850
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
With large-scale molecular dynamics, we investigate displacement cascades in monocrystalline silicon with regard to the effects of temperature, strain, and primary knock-on atom energy on defect generation and evolution. With temperature increasing, both the thermal spike region and the peak defect count increase, while the effect of temperature on the surviving defect number is negligible. Nevertheless, higher temperature shows negative effect on clustering of vacancy. The effects of uniaxial strain on defect production and clustering is negligible, while its hydrostatic counterpart is evident. With the increment of hydrostatic strain, both the peak and surviving defect count increase (decrease) under tensile (compressive) hydrostatic loading. Meantime, tensile hydrostatic strain will promote defect clustering. More defects and larger defect clusters are produced at higher energy. Otherwise, interstitials are hard to form clusters under different conditions.