Human machine interface design in new CANDU control centres

Author

Malcolm, J.S. ; Hinton, G.J. ; Pauksens, J.

Author_Institution

AECL CANDU, Mississauga, Ont., Canada

fYear

1992

Firstpage

91

Lastpage

95

Abstract

The design process and features of new CANDU (Canadian Deuterium Uranium) control centres are discussed. The design process incorporates the systematic consideration of human factors (HF) issues as part of the overall systems engineering activity. This design process has been based on international standards for control center design. CANDU control centers have evolved through three generations of designs with the current advanced designs representing the fourth generation. CANDU plants have always incorporated digital technologies. Video display units (VDUs) have been present in CANDU control centers since the late 1960s. Advanced designs, such as the CANDU 3, make use of a distributed control system feeding data to a plant-wide LAN. The operator interface system is based on a set of nodes on the plant-wide LAN which then feed various VDUs in the control centers. Large-scale wall displays are also used to present operators with a plant overview. Details of the HF aspects of the control center design process and the CANDU 3 control room are discussed.<>

Keywords

cathode-ray tube displays; distributed control; fission reactor operation; fission reactor theory and design; human factors; local area networks; nuclear power stations; power station computer control; user interfaces; CANDU 3; CANDU control centres; VDUs; advanced designs; control center design; design process; digital technologies; distributed control system; fourth generation; human factors; human-machine interface; international standards; large-scale wall displays; operator interface system; plant overview; plant-wide LAN; systematic consideration; systems engineering activity; video display units; Design engineering; Deuterium; Displays; Distributed control; Feeds; Hafnium; Human factors; Local area networks; Process design; Systems engineering and theory;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Human Factors and Power Plants, 1992., Conference Record for 1992 IEEE Fifth Conference on

Conference_Location

Monterey, CA, USA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0888-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/HFPP.1992.283430

Filename

283430