Book Description

The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), runs the OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP), featuring a state-of-the-art research simulator facility in Halden, Norway, called HAMMLAB. HAMMLAB serves two main purposes: the study of human behaviour in interaction with complex process systems; and the development, test and evaluation of prototype control centres and their individual systems. By studying operator performance in HAMMLAB and integrating the knowledge gained into new designs, the HRP contributes to improving operational safety, reliability, efficiency and productivity. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program has contracted IFE to assist DOE national laboratory staff at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in adapting HAMMLAB design concepts for the purpose of control room modernization at nuclear power plants in the U.S. In support of this effort, the DOE has built a simulator research facility at INL called the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). The HSSL is centered on control room modernization, in which industry provided plant instrumentation and controls are modified for upgrade opportunities. The HSSL houses the LWRS simulator, which is a reconfigurable full-scale and full-scope control room simulator. Consisting of 45 large touchscreens on 15 panels, the LWRS simulator is currently using this glass top technology to digitally represent and replicate the functionality of the analog I & C systems in existing control rooms. The LWRS simulator is reconfigurable in that different plant training simulator models obtained from the utilities can be run on the panels, and the panels can be physically moved and arranged to mimic the layout of those control rooms. The glass top technology and reconfigurability capabilities allow the LWRS simulator to be the research platform that is necessary to design, prototype, and validate human-system interface (HSI) technologies that can replace existing analog I & C. IFE has recently assisted INL in establishing the technical infrastructure for implementation of HSI prototypes from HAMMLAB into the HSSL to demonstrate relevant control room replacement systems in support of the LWRS program. In March, 2014, IFE delivered the first HSI prototype utilizing this infrastructure -- a large screen overview display for INL's simulator. The co-operation now continues by developing Procedure Support Displays targeted for operators in hybrid control room settings. These prototypes are being validated with U.S. reactor operators in the HSSL and optimized to enhance their performance. This research serves as a crucial stepping stone toward incorporation of advanced display technologies into conventional main control rooms.