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Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Norway’s Halden reactor takes first step toward decommissioning
The government of Norway has granted the transfer of the Halden research reactor from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) to the state agency Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND). The 25-MWt Halden boiling water reactor operated from 1958 to 2018 and was used in the research of nuclear fuel, reactor internals, plant procedures and monitoring, and human factors.
Md Saifur Rahman, Jie Ding, Ali Beheshti, Xinghang Zhang, Andreas A. Polycarpou
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 193 | Number 9 | September 2019 | Pages 998-1012
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2019.1582315
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study investigates the friction and wear behavior of Inconel 617, one of the primary candidate materials for high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors. Using a custom-built, high-temperature tribometer, a helium (He)-cooled reactor environment was simulated up to 950°C. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the Inconel 617 tribological response, the effects of contact load, temperature, air and He environments, sliding speed, and sliding distance were studied. From the conditions investigated, the coefficient of friction and wear values are the highest in a high-temperature He atmosphere. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to analyze the Inconel 617 oxide layer. Analysis of the samples tested in the He atmosphere showed the presence of Cr-rich oxide with a lower presence of Co-Ni-Mo compared to the samples tested in air. Characterization also revealed the existence of a very hard protective glaze layer in air while such layer was not observed in the He environment, which was associated with higher wear/friction values.