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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.
Emerald D. Ryan, Chad L. Pope
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 10 | October 2020 | Pages 1506-1516
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1704576
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Flooding is a hazard for nuclear power plants (NPPs) and has caused extensive damage and economic impact. Improved NPP flooding risk characterization starts with improving scenario realism by using physics-based flooding simulations. Smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is one method for modeling fluid flow and is being investigated for NPP flooding simulation. While still in its infancy as a fluid simulation tool, SPH offers enticing features especially in three-dimensional modeling. However, when conducting SPH simulations, users must establish, inter alia, the appropriate particle spacing, which can be a tedious and time-consuming process. This paper describes the coupling of the SPH code Neutrino and the Idaho National Laboratory developed Risk Analysis Virtual Environment (RAVEN). By coupling Neutrino and RAVEN, the RAVEN optimization capabilities can now be applied to the particle spacing selection problem. A brief description of SPH, the overall capabilities of RAVEN, and the protocol used to couple the codes are provided. Additionally, the paper details a hypothetical problem and demonstrates the ability of automating the particle spacing selection and performing an example particle spacing optimization using RAVEN. With the Neutrino/RAVEN coupling established, a wide range of capabilities can now be utilized including optimization, reduced order model training and analysis, uncertainty quantification, sensitivity analysis, etc. Previously, these capabilities would require extensive work and time from the Neutrino user. Now, these capabilities are readily available and require only the creation of a RAVEN input file.