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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.
Marie-Charlotte Gauffre, Sofiane Benhamadouche, Pierre-Bernard Badel
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 2 | February 2020 | Pages 255-265
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1642684
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The EDF aims to identify what causes fuel assembly vibrations in pressurized water reactors. The present work focuses on the validation of pressure fluctuations along the central rod of a 5 × 5 configuration for wall-modeled large eddy simulations. New experiments, called CALIFS, have been carried out by the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) on a 5 × 5 mixing vane grid (MVG) in the framework of the Fuel Assembly EDF/CEA/FRAMATOME tripartite project. In addition to pressure drop and velocity measurements using particle image velocimetry, pressure measurements have been performed along the central rod. The computational domain is representative of a span of the experimental mock-up composed of a 5 × 5 rod bundle equipped with a split-type MVG. The hydraulic Reynolds number is equal to 66 000 and periodic boundary conditions are imposed in the streamwise direction. The mesh is fully hexahedral and conformal. Computations give very satisfactory results for the pressure drop, the mean velocity, and the Reynolds stresses at different locations. The root-mean-square of the pressure along the central rod is also compared to experimental data at different heights. The behavior is in very good agreement up to five hydraulic diameters downstream of the MVG.