Building a PC-based knowledge base for improving NDE reliability

摘要

In this paper, we describe a design and partial implementation of a prototype expert system for processing nondestructive evaluation (NDE) data contributed by inspectors of critical structures, components, and weldments such as pressure vesselsand piping in chemical and electric power generating plants.The system is designed to integrate the analysis, database, and graphics features of a software in a personal computer (PC) environment to assist the user in (a) building a knowledge base on selected NDE methods, (b) estimating and improving thereliability of NDE procedures using the knowledge base, and (c) processing specific NDE data with expert-assisted analysis and interpretation for decision support. When fully implemented, the prototype system is designed to serve as the NDE input moduleto probabilistic fracture assessment codes such as PRAISE for piping and VISA-II for pressure vessels.To demonstrate the feasibility of the concept, two of the six submodules of the system are implemented as compiled programs capable of running as stand-alone diskettes in an IBM-PC or compatible environment (minimum DOS 2.0 and PC-XT configuration). Thedemonstration diskettes are written in micro-Prolog and contain ports to interface with external software for graphics, analysis, and report writing purposes.