WTEC panel report on European nuclear instrumentation and controls

Control and instrumentation systems might be called the 'brain' and 'senses' of a nuclear power plant. As such they become the key elements in the integrated operation of these plants. Recent developments in digital equipment have allowed a dramatic change in the design of these instrument and control (I&C) systems. New designs are evolving with cathode ray tube (CRT)-based control rooms, more automation, and better logical information for the human operators. As these new advanced systems are developed, various decisions must be made about the degree of automation and the human-to-machine interface. Different stages of the development of control automation and of advanced digital systems can be found in various countries. The purpose of this technology assessment is to make a comparative evaluation of the control and instrumentation systems that are being used for commercial nuclear power plants in Europe and the United States. This study is limited to pressurized water reactors (PWR's). Part of the evaluation includes comparisons with a previous similar study assessing Japanese technology

Models and evaluation of human-machine systems

"September 1993.""Prepared for: International Atomic Energy Association [sic], Wagramerstrasse 5, P. 0. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria."Part of appendix A and bibliography missingIncludes bibliographical referencesThe field of human-machine systems and human-machine interfaces is very multidisciplinary. We have to navigate between the knowledge waves brought by several areas of the human learning: cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, linguistics, ergonomy, control systems engineering, neurophysiology, sociology, computer sciences, among others. At the present moment, all these disciplines seek to be close each other to generate synergy. It is necessary to homogenize the different nomenclatures and to make that each one can benefit from the results and advances found in the other. Accidents like TMI, Chernobyl, Challenger, Bhopal, and others demonstrated that the human beings shall deal with complex systems that are created by the technological evolution more carefully. The great American writer Allan Bloom died recently wrote in his book 'The Closing of the American Mind' (1987) about the universities curriculum that are commonly separated in tight departments. This was a necessity of the industrial revolution that put emphasis in practical courses in order to graduate specialists in many fields. However, due the great complexity of our technological world, we feel the necessity to integrate again those disciplines that one day were separated to make possible their fast development. This Report is a modest trial to do this integration in a holistic way, trying to capture the best tendencies in those areas of the human learning mentioned in the first lines above. I expect that it can be useful to those professionals who, like me, would desire to build better human-machine systems in order to avoid those accidents also mentioned above

Aerospace Medicine and Biology. A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 244 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in February 1981. Aerospace medicine and aerobiology topics are included. Listings for physiological factors, astronaut performance, control theory, artificial intelligence, and cybernetics are included

Systems model for dynamic human error during accident sequences

Statement of responsibility on title page reads: Y. Huang, N. Siu, D. Lanning, J. Carroll, and V. Dang"December 1991."Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-155)Final report: "A systems model for dynamic human error during accident sequences"This report describes a systems-based operating crew model designed to simulate the behavior of an nuclear power plant control room crew during an accident scenario. This model can lead to an improved treatment of potential operator-induced multiple failures, since it deals directly with the causal factors underlying individual and group behavior. It is intended that the model, or more advanced developments of the model, will be used in the human reliability analysis portion of a probabilistic risk assessment study, where careful treatment of multiple, dependent failures is required. The model treats the members of the control room crew as separate, reasoning entities. These entities receive information from the plant and each other, process that information, perform actions that affect the plant, and provide information to the other crew members.The information retrieval, processing, and output activities are affected by the characteristics of the individual operator (e.g., his technical ability) and his relationship (measured in terms of "confidence level") with his fellow operators. Group behavior is modeled as the implicit result of individual operator behavior and the interactions between operators. The model is applied towards the analysis of steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accidents at a non-U.S. pressurized water reactor, using the SIMSCRIPT 11.5 programming language. Benchmark runs, comparing the model predictions with videotaped observations of the performances of three different crews during SGTR training exercises, are performed to tune a small number of model parameters. The tuned model is then applied in a blind test analysis of a fourth crew. In both the benchmarking and blind test runs, the model performs quite well in predicting the occurrence, ordering, and timing of key events.The model is also employed in a number of sensitivity analyses that demonstrate the robustness of the model (it generates plausible results even when the model parameters are assigned values not representative of observed crews) and the model's usefulness in investigating key issues (e.g., the effect of stress buildup on crew performance). iSupported by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission: NRC-04-89-35

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 335)

This bibliography lists 143 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during March, 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

The historical development and basis of human factors guidelines for automated systems in aeronautical operations

In order to derive general design guidelines for automated systems a study was conducted on the utilization and acceptance of existing automated systems as currently employed in several commercial fields. Four principal study area were investigated by means of structured interviews, and in some cases questionnaires. The study areas were aviation, a both scheduled airline and general commercial aviation; process control and factory applications; office automation; and automation in the power industry. The results of over eighty structured interviews were analyzed and responses categoried as various human factors issues for use by both designers and users of automated equipment. These guidelines address such items as general physical features of automated equipment; personnel orientation, acceptance, and training; and both personnel and system reliability

Human Factors Considerations in System Design

Human factors considerations in systems design was examined. Human factors in automated command and control, in the efficiency of the human computer interface and system effectiveness are outlined. The following topics are discussed: human factors aspects of control room design; design of interactive systems; human computer dialogue, interaction tasks and techniques; guidelines on ergonomic aspects of control rooms and highly automated environments; system engineering for control by humans; conceptual models of information processing; information display and interaction in real time environments

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 373)

This bibliography lists 206 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during Feb. 1993. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and physiology, pharmacology, toxicology, environmental effect, life support systems and man/system technology, protective clothing, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, planetary biology, and flight crew behavior and performance