skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A Computuerized Operator Support System Prototype

Abstract

A report was published by the Idaho National Laboratory in September of 2012, entitled Design to Achieve Fault Tolerance and Resilience, which described the benefits of automating operator actions for transients. The report identified situations in which providing additional automation in lieu of operator actions would be advantageous. It recognized that managing certain plant upsets is sometimes limited by the operator’s ability to quickly diagnose the fault and to take the needed actions in the time available. Undoubtedly, technology is underutilized in the nuclear power industry for operator assistance during plant faults and operating transients. In contrast, other industry sectors have amply demonstrated that various forms of operator advisory systems can enhance operator performance while maintaining the role and responsibility of the operator as the independent and ultimate decision-maker. A computerized operator support system (COSS) is proposed for use in nuclear power plants to assist control room operators in addressing time-critical plant upsets. A COSS is a collection of technologies to assist operators in monitoring overall plant performance and making timely, informed decisions on appropriate control actions for the projected plant condition. The COSS does not supplant the role of the operator, but rather provides rapid assessments, computations, and recommendationsmore » to reduce workload and augment operator judgment and decision-making during fast-moving, complex events. This project proposes a general model for a control room COSS that addresses a sequence of general tasks required to manage any plant upset: detection, validation, diagnosis, recommendation, monitoring, and recovery. The model serves as a framework for assembling a set of technologies that can be interrelated to assist with each of these tasks. A prototype COSS has been developed in order to demonstrate the concept and provide a test bed for further research. The prototype is based on four underlying elements consisting of a digital alarm system, computer-based procedures, PI&D system representations, and a recommender module for mitigation actions. At this point, the prototype simulates an interface to a sensor validation module and a fault diagnosis module. These two modules will be fully integrated in the next version of the prototype. The initial version of the prototype is now operational at the Idaho National Laboratory using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). The HSSL is a full-scope, full-scale glass top simulator capable of simulating existing and future nuclear power plant main control rooms. The COSS is interfaced to the Generic Pressurized Water Reactor (gPWR) simulator with industry-typical control board layouts. The glass top panels display realistic images of the control boards that can be operated by touch gestures. A section of the simulated control board was dedicated to the COSS human-system interface (HSI), which resulted in a seamless integration of the COSS into the normal control room environment.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
OSTI Identifier:
1122117
Report Number(s):
INL/EXT-13-29751
DOE Contract Number:  
AC07-05ID14517
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; 97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING; nuclear power plants; plant protection system

Citation Formats

Thomas, Ken, Boring, Ronald, Lew, Roger, Ulrich, Tom, and Villim, Richard. A Computuerized Operator Support System Prototype. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.2172/1122117.
Thomas, Ken, Boring, Ronald, Lew, Roger, Ulrich, Tom, & Villim, Richard. A Computuerized Operator Support System Prototype. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/1122117
Thomas, Ken, Boring, Ronald, Lew, Roger, Ulrich, Tom, and Villim, Richard. 2013. "A Computuerized Operator Support System Prototype". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/1122117. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1122117.
@article{osti_1122117,
title = {A Computuerized Operator Support System Prototype},
author = {Thomas, Ken and Boring, Ronald and Lew, Roger and Ulrich, Tom and Villim, Richard},
abstractNote = {A report was published by the Idaho National Laboratory in September of 2012, entitled Design to Achieve Fault Tolerance and Resilience, which described the benefits of automating operator actions for transients. The report identified situations in which providing additional automation in lieu of operator actions would be advantageous. It recognized that managing certain plant upsets is sometimes limited by the operator’s ability to quickly diagnose the fault and to take the needed actions in the time available. Undoubtedly, technology is underutilized in the nuclear power industry for operator assistance during plant faults and operating transients. In contrast, other industry sectors have amply demonstrated that various forms of operator advisory systems can enhance operator performance while maintaining the role and responsibility of the operator as the independent and ultimate decision-maker. A computerized operator support system (COSS) is proposed for use in nuclear power plants to assist control room operators in addressing time-critical plant upsets. A COSS is a collection of technologies to assist operators in monitoring overall plant performance and making timely, informed decisions on appropriate control actions for the projected plant condition. The COSS does not supplant the role of the operator, but rather provides rapid assessments, computations, and recommendations to reduce workload and augment operator judgment and decision-making during fast-moving, complex events. This project proposes a general model for a control room COSS that addresses a sequence of general tasks required to manage any plant upset: detection, validation, diagnosis, recommendation, monitoring, and recovery. The model serves as a framework for assembling a set of technologies that can be interrelated to assist with each of these tasks. A prototype COSS has been developed in order to demonstrate the concept and provide a test bed for further research. The prototype is based on four underlying elements consisting of a digital alarm system, computer-based procedures, PI&D system representations, and a recommender module for mitigation actions. At this point, the prototype simulates an interface to a sensor validation module and a fault diagnosis module. These two modules will be fully integrated in the next version of the prototype. The initial version of the prototype is now operational at the Idaho National Laboratory using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). The HSSL is a full-scope, full-scale glass top simulator capable of simulating existing and future nuclear power plant main control rooms. The COSS is interfaced to the Generic Pressurized Water Reactor (gPWR) simulator with industry-typical control board layouts. The glass top panels display realistic images of the control boards that can be operated by touch gestures. A section of the simulated control board was dedicated to the COSS human-system interface (HSI), which resulted in a seamless integration of the COSS into the normal control room environment.},
doi = {10.2172/1122117},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1122117}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}