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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.
Zeyun Wu, Christian Pochron, Mihai (Mike) G. M. Pop, Neal Mann
Nuclear Technology | Volume 211 | Number 2 | February 2025 | Pages 225-240
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2323267
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Molten Uranium Breeder Reactor (MUBR) is a radically new reactor concept with a mixed-energy spectrum. MUBR is fueled with molten uranium metal in large-diameter fuel tubes and is cooled by circulating molten uranium fuel through a heat exchanger. The reactor has heavy water as moderator, and the reactivity of the reactor is primarily controlled by the voiding effect of the moderator through an innovative control cavity structure design. Because the MUBR design is vastly different from most existing fission reactors, neutronics analysis must be performed for many different combinations of design parameters to identify viable and optimum design configurations. To facilitate the neutronics analysis, a proprietary program called MUBR6gen is being developed to provide a pipeline tool to expedite the process. MUBR6gen employs two well-established neutronics codes, i.e., MCNP and SCALE, to perform standard neutronics calculations for MUBR by automating input preparation and output processing. In addition, MUBR6gen ensures consistency of the MCNP and SCALE inputs and compares the outputs of the two codes to warrant the simulation results. Augmented with MUBR6gen, standard neutronics analysis was carried out on a small-scale MUBR design, which serves as a model problem in the paper. The neutronics performance characteristics of the model reactor were obtained and discussed in a code-to-code pattern. An overall very good agreement between the results of the two neutronics codes was established. Based on the success of the model problem analysis, further neutronics analysis using MUBR6gen was extended for a set of MUBR variant designs. Meaningful and promising fuel cycle analysis results for the 10 different designs were achieved and discussed. These results are used to identify the best MUBR candidates in terms of fuel lifetime and utilization efficiency for future applications.