Development of an advanced human-machine interface for next generation nuclear power plants

An advanced human-machine interface (HMI) has been developed to enhance the safety and availability of a nuclear power plant (NPP) by improving operat ional reliability. The key elements of the proposed HMI are the large displ ay panels which present synopsis of plant status and the compact, computer- based work stations for monitoring, control and protection functions. The w ork station consists of four consoles such as a dynamic alarm console (DAC) , a system information console (SIC), a computerized operating-procedure co nsole (COC), and a safety system information console (SSIC). The DAC provid es clean alarm pictures, in which information overlapping is excluded and a larm impacts are discriminated, for quick situation awareness. The SIC supp orts a normal operation by offering all necessary system information and co ntrol functions over non-safety systems. In addition, it is closely Linked to the other consoles in order to automatically display related system info rmation according to situations of the DAC and the COG. The COC aids operat ors with proper operating procedures during normal plant startup and shutdo wn or after a plant trip, and it also reduces their physical/mental burden through soft automation. The SSIC continuously displays safety system statu s and enables operators to control safety systems. The proposed HMI has bee n evaluated using the checklists that are extracted from various human fact ors guidelines. From the evaluation results, it can be concluded that the H MI is so designed as to address the human factors issues reasonably. After sufficient validation, the concept and the design features of the proposed HMI will be reflected in the design of the main control room of the Korean Next Generation Reactor (KNGR). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights r eserved.