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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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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.
Bahman Zohuri, Stephen Lam, Charles Forsberg
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 11 | November 2020 | Pages 1642-1658
Critical Review | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1681222
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactor and some proposed fusion reactors use clean fluoride salts as reactor coolants that have melting points above 450°C and generate tritium. Tritium diffuses through most hot metals, thus methods to capture tritium and prevent its release to the environment are required. Molten salt reactors (MSRs) use fluoride or chloride salts with high melting points where the fuel is dissolved in the coolant. MSR systems produce volatile fission products (Xe, Kr, etc.) and some produce significant tritium. We examine the use of heat exchangers with multiple heat pipes for salt-cooled fission and fusion systems that serve four functions: (1) transfer heat from primary coolant to power cycle, secondary loop, or environment; (2) provide the safety function of a secondary loop by isolating the reactor salt coolant from the high-pressure power cycle; (3) stop heat transfer if the reactor coolant approaches its freezing point to prevent blockage of the primary loop; and (4) block tritium escape to the environment with recovery of the tritium. Each of these capabilities in some form has been demonstrated in a heat pipe system, but not all the functions have been demonstrated in a single system because there has been no need for all of these capabilities in a single system. We review the status of heat pipe technology and the limits of heat pipe technology as the starting points for decisions on the development of such heat pipe systems.