Aspects of Intelligent Tutoring Systems Applied to Small Water Treatment Plant Expert Systems

An expert system has been developed to aid the operators of small water treatment plants. A tutorial component of the expert system explains the possible reasons for common problems by focusing on the jar test analysis for chemical dosage control. The tutor provides an operator with the opportunity to run the jar test, receive feedback on the parameters selected, visualize the results on the actual water treatment processes, and be tutored in the topics related to understanding the processes involved and additional supplemental areas such as concentrations and conversions. A background of Intelligent Tutoring Systems, along with a justification of the approach, is provided. The development of the jar test tutor including knowledge representation is described.