Mental Workload Assessment in the Verification of Thermal Power Dispatch Operating Concepts Using a Graded Simulator-Based Approach

There is a need to leverage non-electric applications of nuclear heat in generating additional income streams via thermal power dispatch (TPD) to other industrial processes, especially during periods of low electricity demand. Research efforts at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have been exploring the development of a TPD system to supply heat to a nearby high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) plant for hydrogen production. As the development of the TPD system evolves, there is a need to develop supporting operating concepts for operating the system in the control room simultaneously. This paper describes a graded simulator-based approach to assess mental workload while testing the TPD operating concepts. The mental workload of three distinct groups of participants comprising college students, operational experts and trained operators was assessed in three separate studies using TPD simulators at two levels of fidelity. Results showed students’ overall workload was low, and the workload of trained operators was medium across all scenarios. Further analyses revealed additional findings discussed within the context verification of the TPD operating concepts implemented using a graded simulator-based approach.