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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.
Marcos P. de Abreu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 369-372
Neutron Measurements | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 2) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9211
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this technical note we report on a slight but important modification in a recently developed backscattered neutron-based void fraction evaluation scheme for slab materials, and we describe an add-on numerical scheme for computing total (direct plus diffuse) neutron transmission through a test slab. In the void fraction evaluation scheme, the broad neutron beam consists of a monodirectional (singular), normally incident component and a smooth (regular), angularly continuous component, i.e., a mixed neutron beam. Once the void fraction of the test slab has been evaluated, the diffuse component of the angular flux of transmitted neutrons can be computed from an accurate spherical harmonics-discrete ordinates solution of the neutron beam transport problem defined in a reduced slab domain (the direct component is rather straightforward to compute). The add-on scheme described here can be used to evaluate the amount of neutrons that escape from the slab through the back side. Numerical results are given to illustrate the usefulness of our add-on scheme in neutron shielding studies.