Work

A formal approach to support the identification of unsafe control actions of STPA for nuclear protection systems

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: STPA (System-Theoretic Process Analysis) is a widely used safety analysis technique to identify UCAs (Unsafe Control Actions) resulting in potential losses. It is totally dependent on the experience and ability of analysts to construct an information model called Control Structures, upon which analysts try to identify unsafe controls between system components. This paper proposes a formal approach to support the manual identification of UCAs, effectively and systematically. It allows analysts to mechanically extract Process Model, an important element that makes up the Control Structures, from a formal requirements specification for a software controller. It then concisely constructs the contents of Context Tables, from which analysts can identify all relevant UCAs effectively, using a software fault tree analysis technique. The case study with a preliminary version of a Korean nuclear reactor protections system shows the proposed approach's effectiveness and applicability.

Source: Nuclear Engineering and Technology

DOI: 10.1016/j.net.2021.10.033

Authors: Sejin Jung, Yoona Heo, Junbeom Yoo

Institution: Konkuk University

Language: English

Topic: Risk and Safety Analysis

Subfield: Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $200

Funders: National Research Foundation, National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea