A decision support system for real‐time monitoring and control of dynamical processes

This article presents the concept and development of a prototype diagnostic decision support system for real‐time control and monitoring of dynamical processes. This decision support system, known as Diagnostic Evaluation and Corrective Action (DECA), employs qualitative reasoning, in conjunction with quantitative models, for monitoring and diagnosis of malfunctions in dynamical processes under routine operations and emergency situations. DECA is especially suited for application to time‐constrained environments where an immediate action is needed to avoid catastrophic failure(s). DECA is written in common Lisp and has been implemented on a Symbolics 3670 machine; its efficacy has been verified using the data from the Three Mile Island No. 2 Nuclear Reactor Accident.