Proceedings of the 5. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation Controls, and Human Machine Interface Technology

Conference · Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006

OSTI ID:22029983

Instrumentation, Controls, and Human-Machine Interface (ICHMI) technologies are essential to ensuring delivery and effective operation of nuclear power systems. The ICHMI system, together with plant personnel, is the 'central nervous system' for operating plants. It senses basic parameters, monitors performance, integrates information, and makes adjustments to plant operations as necessary. It also responds to failures and off-normal events, thus ensuring goals of efficient power production and safety. The ICHMI system embodies the sensing, communications, monitoring, control, and presentation and command systems between the process (i.e., the reactor, heat transport, and energy conversion systems) and the plant personnel. It enables plant personnel to more effectively monitor the health of the plant and to identify opportunities to improve the performance of equipment and systems as well as to anticipate, understand, and respond to potential problems. Improved controls provide the basis to operate more closely to performance margins, and the improved integration of automatic and human response enables them to work cooperatively to accomplish production and safety goals. The ICHMI system thus directly impacts the performance of the entire plant and thereby the economics, safety, and security of current and future reactor designs. The 5. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation Control and Human-Machine Interface Technology (NPIC and HMIT 2006) is specifically devoted to advances in these important technologies. In these proceedings, more than 200 papers and panel sessions from all over the world have been assembled to share the most recent information and innovations in ICHMI technology and to discuss the important issues that face the future of the industry. The papers fall into two major groupings: instrumentation and control (I and C) and human-machine interface technology (HMIT). The I and C papers are organized into five tracks. 'Systems' contains papers on digital systems reliability, digital I and C technology, control systems, and architectural configurations. 'Hardware and Communications' contains papers on advanced sensors and measurement techniques, cyber-security, wireless technology application, component aging, and environmental compatibility. 'Techniques' contains papers on reactor noise analysis, signal-processing methods, diagnostics, prognostics, predictive maintenance, and system analysis tools. 'Future and Applications' contains papers on educating the next generation of nuclear power ICHMI professionals, Generation IV and research reactor I and C, application of next-generation I and C systems, lessons learned in digital upgrades, and approaches to setpoints. 'Qualification and Regulation' contains papers on safety critical software, qualification issues in an evolving regulatory environment, current licensing issues for advanced I and C technologies, digital I and C assessment methodologies, and software quality assurance. The HMIT papers are organized into three tracks. 'Advances in Human-System Interfaces' contains papers dealing with topics such as advances in control room design, user interaction with automation, visualization technology, computerized procedure systems and other operator support technology, and new HMIT. 'Human Factors Engineering Design and Evaluation' focuses on recent developments, and paper topics include design and analysis tools, function-based approaches to control room design, use of knowledge capture and engineering, virtual reality, advances and challenges in human reliability analysis, and approaches to verification and validation. 'HMIT Operational Considerations' includes paper topics such as regulatory challenges and approaches to advanced systems, regulatory oversight and involvement in safety culture, and innovative approaches to training and training technologies.

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22029983
• Resource Relation: Conference: NPIC and HMIT 2006: 5. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation Controls, and Human Machine Interface Technology, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 12-16 Nov 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
AUTOMATION
COMPUTER CODES
CONTROL ROOMS
DATA TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT INTERFACES
HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING
INTERACTIVE DISPLAY DEVICES
MAN-MACHINE SYSTEMS
QUALITY ASSURANCE
REACTOR CONTROL SYSTEMS
REACTOR MONITORING SYSTEMS
REACTOR NOISE
REACTOR SAFETY
RELIABILITY
RESEARCH REACTORS
SAFETY CULTURE
SIGNAL CONDITIONING
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
VALIDATION
VERIFICATION