ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some applications of expert system technology within the power industry, the benefits offered by these systems, the problems encountered in development, and future trends for expert systems in the power generation field. The level of use of Artificial Intelligence techniques in the United Kingdom contrasts sharply with the power industry in the United States, which is much more diverse, with many small private generating companies. Expert systems have been applied to various aspects of the power generation process, from diagnosing problems on steam turbines to monitoring and diagnosing problems in the entire generation process. One real-time, predictive online expert system, developed in 1993 by Siemens of Germany to monitor and diagnose the overall power generation process was the Knowledge-Based Operator System. Nuclear facilities face the same competitive problems as other types of generating facilities and must also enhance power generation and increase productivity while also increasing the safety of the plant.
