Selecting redundant microprocessor-based systems

Journal Article · Mon Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Hydrocarbon Processing; (United States)

OSTI ID:6484960

Beckman, L V ^[1]

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1. Triconex Corp., Irvine, CA (United States)

Some form of redundancy is typical when designing microprocessor-based systems for safety applications. But final selection must match requirements of the application. Should the system be fail-safe or fault tolerant Is safety the overriding consideration, or is production a concern as well Are redundant programmable logic controllers (PLCs) adequate, or should a system specifically designed for safety applications be used A lot of effort is being made in both the US and Europe to set guidelines and standards that match the system's safety integrity with the degree of risk inherent in the application. This paper discusses system design objectives; fail-safe versus fault tolerant; redundancy; redundancy with repair; redundancy with periodic repair; failure modes; software reliability; system maintenance; and economic considerations.

• OSTI ID: 6484960
• Journal Information: Hydrocarbon Processing; (United States), Journal Name: Hydrocarbon Processing; (United States) Vol. 72:2; ISSN HYPRAX; ISSN 0018-8190
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420200* -- Engineering-- Facilities
Equipment
& Techniques
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL SYSTEMS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
FAILURES
INDUSTRY
MAINTENANCE
ON-LINE CONTROL SYSTEMS
ON-LINE SYSTEMS
PLANNING
RELIABILITY
REPAIR
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS