Simulation-based evaluation system for man-machine interfaces in nuclear power plants

The authors have developed the SEAMAID system which is a simulation-based evaluation and analysis support system for man-machine interface design in the domain of nuclear power plants. The SEAMAID system simulates the interaction between an operator and man machine interfaces (MMI), and supports the evaluation of the MMI by using the simulation results. The operator simulator in the SEAMAID system copes with a single abnormal event, according to the operation manuals. The Interaction Analyzer (IA) evaluates the simulation results executed by integrating the operator simulator, the man-machine-interface (MMI) simulator, and the plant simulator. The authors expanded SEAMAID in two features: realization of flexible modification/addition/deletion of evaluation items and consideration of various kinds of guidelines of a human interface by representing the items as frames; and a human model of detecting and diagnosing plant anomaly followed by a sequence of reactions. In this paper, MMI evaluation using the integrated simulation of plant, MMI and operator are discussed. Especially focusing on the MMI evaluation process of SEAMAID, the frame structure is proposed for handling various guidelines and evaluation indices, and providing appropriate guideline to an analyst or a designer.