ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Hongping Sun, Jian Deng, Dahuan Zhu, Yapei Zhang, Wenxi Tian, Suizheng Qiu, G. H. Su
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 10 | October 2020 | Pages 1481-1493
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1713672
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Sodium combustion oxide aerosols are the main carriers of radioactive materials in a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) during sodium fire accidents. Therefore, it is of great significance to simulate aerosol behavior in sodium pool fires to evaluate radioactive source terms in the containment or environment. In this work, a numerical method has been developed to simulate sodium oxide aerosol behavior during sodium pool fires. The Classical Nucleation Theory has been taken into account to simulate gas-to-particle conversion (GPC). The model has been evaluated theoretically in 280 cases with three main parameters: sodium pool temperature, pool diameter, and oxygen concentration. The correlation established by fitting data points is associated with the sodium evaporation rate. The SFA code has been developed based on advanced sodium pool combustion and aerosol models coupled with GPC correlations. In comparison with the experimental data, the code-calculated average atmospheric temperature, airborne aerosol concentration, and particle size are in good agreement with the data, which indicate that the method is reliable and can be applied in code development in the future.