Expert systems to support

Expert Systems To Support Environmental Sampling, Analysis, and Data Validation... 

AIWARE, description, 64 Analysis, expert systems to support, 69-80 Aquatic toxicity of contaminants, prediction by expert system, 91-104 Architecture, expert system to diagnose performance limiting factors atPOTWs, 126... 

Despite the obvious importance of ISD, there has only been limited work for developing tools that support the assessment of IS. INSET was developed to promote IS principles, and contains a set of tools which support the adoption of IS principles into process development and design (Malm n et al., 1995 van Steen, 1996, Turney et al. 1997). Recently, an expert system that supports ISD by identifying safety issues and proposing inherently safer alternatives was reported (Palaniappan et al., 2002a 2002b). 

One of the last steps in designing chemical processes is plant layout which includes placement of equipment as well as routing of pipes. Because this task requires a lot of experience, combined with the capability of handling a tremendous number of alternatives, it was natural that researchers started to minimize the design effort by developing expert systems which support the user working on this task. 

Computer system of defect assessments as applied to primary circuit piping is developed as the tool of expert ISI strength supporting. Results of defect assessments are governed by adequate data on stress distributions and defect geometry. 

Simulators are a special kind of expert systems and should be treated as such. They should be used to support the decision making process but not to replace the human creativity. 

The typical structure of an expert system is shown in Fig. 43.1. Three basic components are present in all expert systems the knowledge base, the inference engine and the interaction module (user interface). The knowledge base is the heart of the expert system. It contains the necessary expert knowledge and experience to act as a decision support. Only if this is correct and complete enough the expert system can produce meaningful and useful conclusions and advice. The inference... 

The next few steps are very similar to those required in any software project. One of the first stages is the clear definition of the knowledge domain. It must be clear which problems the expert system must solve. It is at this stage not the intention to define how this can be done. Clarity and specificity must be the major guides here. Fuzziness at this stage will, more than in classical software projects, have to be paid for later when different interpretations cause misunderstandings. Equally important is the clear definition of the end user(s). An expert system set up as decision support tool for professionals is totally different from an expert system that can be used as a training support for less professional people. 

One of the most demanding exercises that scientists engage in is writing research proposals to obtain funding to support their work. Sketch out the structure of an expert system that would be able to help in this task. 

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