EVOLUTION OF MMI FOR 500 MWE PHWR PLANT

The Indian nuclear power programme for building Pressurized Heavy Wate r Reactors began with the constructuion of two units at Kota, Rajastha n. Although the concept of a centralized control room has been used si nce the beginning, the man-machine interface design has evolved with t echnological developments. The man-machine interaction in the earliest plants imposed a considerable burden on the operators and lead to a n eed for more sophisticated instrumentation. Several microprocessor and computer based systems were identified and developed and many were re trofitted into existing plants providing immediate advantages. This pa per traces the evolution of many of these systems and also describes t he basis and the architecture for the man-machine interaction scheme i n the 500 MWe nuclear power plants currently being designed.