Image Entropy-Based Interface Evaluation Method for Nuclear Power Plants

Area of Science:

• Human Factors Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Information Science

Background:

• Digital interfaces are critical for nuclear power plant operators' decision-making.
• Current interface evaluations often neglect decision-making performance and lack standardized, scalable methods.
• Existing methods are typically post-design and unsuitable for large-scale assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel, decision-making-centric method for evaluating nuclear power plant interfaces.
• To utilize image entropy to quantify the impact of interface information on operator decision-making.
• To develop a standardized and adaptable framework for interface evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Leveraged image entropy to assess the influence of information on operator decision-making.
• Developed a method specifically tailored for nuclear power plant digital interfaces.
• Conducted a comparative analysis against an experimental evaluation method for validation.

Main Results:

• The proposed image entropy method effectively evaluates the impact of interface information on decision-making.
• Empirical validation confirmed the method's effectiveness compared to experimental approaches.
• The method proved to be standardized, adaptable, and suitable for large-scale, rapid assessments.

Conclusions:

• This research presents a unique, decision-making-focused approach to interface evaluation in nuclear power.
• The developed method provides a standardized, adaptable framework applicable across various design phases.
• The findings enable more extensive and efficient evaluations of nuclear power plant interfaces.