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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.
Ki-Yong Choi, Seok Cho, Hyoung-Kyu Cho, Chul-Hwa Song
Nuclear Technology | Volume 170 | Number 1 | April 2010 | Pages 54-67
Technical Paper | Special Issue on the 2008 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants / Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A9445
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The 6 × 6 reflood test facility for Advanced Thermal Hydraulic Evaluation of Reflood phenomena (ATHER) has been operated by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute to investigate the reflooding phenomena in a rod bundle. A series of bottom reflood tests was carried out by varying several parameters affecting the reflooding process such as the flooding velocity, inlet coolant subcooling, system pressure, initial maximum rod wall temperature, and rod power. Subsequently, counterpart reflood tests of rod bundle heat transfer data from The Pennsylvania State University were conducted for comparison, focusing especially on the effects of the heat flux on the peak cladding temperature (PCT) and the quenching behavior. The best-estimate thermal-hydraulic system analysis code MARS3.1 was assessed with the obtained data to investigate the parametric effects on its prediction accuracy. It was found that the prediction accuracy of the PCT is reasonable on the whole but that the MARS code predicts delayed quenching behavior compared with the data, especially for high heat flux conditions. In particular, the prediction becomes deteriorated downstream, far from the inlet of the test section.