Abstract
This paper describes a proposed method and technology of safety assessment of projects based on field programmable gate arrays (FPGA). Safety assessment is based on special invariants, e.g., properties which remain unchanged when a specified transformation is applied. A classification and examples of FPGA project invariants are provided. In the paper, two types of invariants are described. The first type of invariants used for such assessment are those which are versatile since they reflect the unchanged properties of FPGA projects, hardware description languages, etc. These invariants can be replenished as experience gained in project implementation accumulates. The second type of invariants is formed based on an analysis of the specifics of a particular FPGA project and reflects the features of the tasks to be solved, the algorithms that are implemented, the hardware FPGA chips used, and the computer-aided design tools, etc. The paper contains a description of the overall conception and particular stages of FPGA projects invariant-based safety assessment. As examples for solving some tasks (using of invariants and defect injections), the paper contains several algorithms written in the VHSIC hardware description language (VHDL). The paper summarizes the results obtained during several years of practical and theoretical research. It can be of practical use for engineers and researchers in the field of quality, reliability, and security of embedded systems, software and information management systems for critical and business applications.
Highlights
Ensuring the functional safety and reliability of instrumentation and control systems (I&Cs) is highly dependent on the quality of the software (SW) and programmable components
Independent verification and validation (IV&V) is performed as a mandatory requirement for the safety-important ICSs used in nuclear power plants (NPP), space systems and other types of critical systems [4,5]
Concept: invariants list definition is performed considering the extracted software, algorithmic, and other models for field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) project specifics and their presentation features at different stages of project development and operation lifecycle after implementation in the chip
Summary
Ensuring the functional safety and reliability of instrumentation and control systems (I&Cs) is highly dependent on the quality of the software (SW) and programmable components. Independent verification and validation (IV&V) is a key test methodology for critical software and programmable logic-based systems (e.g., FPGA) [1,2,3]. IV&V is performed as a mandatory (regulatory) requirement for the safety-important ICSs used in nuclear power plants (NPP) (regulations are included in IAEA standards), space systems (such regulations are included in ECSS, ESA standards) and other types of critical systems [4,5]. For critical domains like the energy sector (already mentioned NPPs) the operating reliability assessment of FPGA-based I&Cs is always one of the most important activities [6]. Evidence consists of providing trustworthy quantitative assessments during the verification process of software (SW) or FPGA-based design
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