Measurement of inconvenience, human errors, and mental workload of simulated nuclear power plant control operations

This study developed a comprehensive and easily applicable nuclear reactor control system evaluation method using reactor operators behavioral and mental workload database. A proposed control panel design cycle consists of the 5 steps: (1) finding out inconvenient, erroneous, and mentally stressful factors for the proposed design through evaluative experiments, (2) drafting improved design alternatives considering detective factors found out in the step (1), (3) comparative experiements for the design alternatives, (4) selecting a best design alternative, (5) returning to the step (1) and repeating the design cycle. Reactor operators behavioral and mental workload database collected from evaluative experiments in the step (1) and comparative experiments in the step (3) of the design cycle have a key roll in finding out defective factors and yielding the criteria for selection of the proposed reactor control systems. The behavioral database was designed to include the major informations about reactor operators' control behaviors: beginning time of operations, involved displays, classification of observational behaviors, dehaviors, decisions, involved control devices, classification of control behaviors, communications, emotional status, opinions for man-machine interface, and system event log. The database for mental workload scored from various physiological variables-EEG, EOG, ECG, and respir- ation pattern-was developed to indicate the most stressful situation during reactor control operations and to give hints for defective design factors. An experimental test for the evaluation method applied to the Compact Nuclear Simulator (CNS) installed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) suggested that some defective design factors of analog indicators should be improved and that automatization of power control to a target level would give relaxation to the subject operators in stressful situation.