Expert Systems Applications Within the Nuclear Industry

Conceived in the 1960s at MIT to integrate complex mathematical relations and to assist in the identification of the structure of chemical compounds, expert systems have since been commercialized to assist in medical diagnosis and configuring computer systems. There are currently several hundred nuclear-oriented expert systems under development by utilities, research organizations, private firms, industry suppliers, universities, and government organizations. Major application areas for expert systems are assessed in terms relative to the capabilities of the technology in the nuclear industry. These areas include the use of systems as engineering tools, plant design, facility management, maintenance planning, interactive diagnostics, real-time diagnostics, decision support, emergency response, operator models and control. In this book each area of application is reviewed in terms relative to the capabilities of the technology.