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At least 181 records · Page 10

Software and Hardware Systems in the Safety Control Systems of Nuclear Power Plants

Fundamentally new software and hardware systems for lower level automation in the safety monitoring and control systems of nuclear power plants are examined. More than a hundred software-hardware systems employing software and hardware from different manufacturers have been developed and introduced in this area. Design and functional solutions based on specific software-hardware systems are presented and comparative data on the apparatus and the use of the diversity principle are discussed.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Run Time Assurance as an Alternate Concept to Contemporary Development Assurance Processes

NASA and the FAA sought industry research to identify and evaluate alternate concepts for assuring safety of airborne systems. This report documents a research effort focused on the evaluation of Run Time Assurance (RTA) as applied to a novel, airborne system architecture. The RTA pattern is applied to a case study focused on a notional integrated flight and propulsion control system for a DEP VTOL aircraft. During flight, while the high-automation algorithms are operating, the RTA system will monitor the aircraft state for any impending violation of safety requirements. When necessary, it will switch to the low-automation software to prevent such violations. Assurance practices for both baseline industry activities and the RTA approach were captured and compared to illustrate the required engineering design considerations, and possible advantages and disadvantages of each approach as part of this case study.

Eric M. Peterson↗

Simulating Humans as Integral Parts of Spacecraft Missions

The Collaborative-Virtual Environment Simulation Tool (C-VEST) software was developed for use in a NASA project entitled "3-D Interactive Digital Virtual Human." The project is oriented toward the use of a comprehensive suite of advanced software tools in computational simulations for the purposes of human-centered design of spacecraft missions and of the spacecraft, space suits, and other equipment to be used on the missions. The C-VEST software affords an unprecedented suite of capabilities for three-dimensional virtual-environment simulations with plug-in interfaces for physiological data, haptic interfaces, plug-and-play software, realtime control, and/or playback control. Mathematical models of the mechanics of the human body and of the aforementioned equipment are implemented in software and integrated to simulate forces exerted on and by astronauts as they work. The computational results can then support the iterative processes of design, building, and testing in applied systems engineering and integration. The results of the simulations provide guidance for devising measures to counteract effects of microgravity on the human body and for the rapid development of virtual (that is, simulated) prototypes of advanced space suits, cockpits, and robots to enhance the productivity, comfort, and safety of astronauts. The unique ability to implement human-in-the-loop immersion also makes the C-VEST software potentially valuable for use in commercial and academic settings beyond the original space-mission setting.

Bruins, Anthony C.↗

Structural Design and Analysis of the Upper Pressure Shell Section of a Composite Crew Module

This paper presents the results of the structural design and analysis of the upper pressure shell section of a carbon composite demonstration structure for the Composite Crew Module (CCM) Project. The project is managed by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center with participants from eight NASA Centers, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and multiple aerospace contractors including ATK/Swales, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Collier Research Corporation, Genesis Engineering, and Janicki Industries. The paper discusses details of the upper pressure shell section design of the CCM and presents the structural analysis results using the HyperSizer structural sizing software and the MSC Nastran finite element analysis software. The HyperSizer results showed that the controlling load case driving most of the sizing in the upper pressure shell section was the internal pressure load case. The regions around the cutouts were controlled by internal pressure and the main parachute load cases. The global finite element analysis results showed that the majority of the elements of the CCM had a positive margin of safety with the exception of a few hot spots around the cutouts. These hot spots are currently being investigated with a more detailed analysis. Local finite element models of the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS) interface ring and the forward bay gussets with greater mesh fidelity were created for local sizing and analysis. The sizing of the LIDS interface ring was driven by the drogue parachute loads, Trans-Lunar Insertion (TLI) loads, and internal pressure. The drogue parachute loads controlled the sizing of the gusset cap on the drogue gusset and TLI loads controlled the sizing of the other five gusset caps. The main parachute loads controlled the sizing of the lower ends of the gusset caps on the main parachute fittings. The results showed that the gusset web/pressure shell and gusset web/gusset cap interfaces bonded using Pi-preform joints had local hot spots in the Pi-preform termination regions. These regions require a detailed three-dimensional analysis, which is currently being performed, to accurately address the load distribution near the Pi-preform termination in the upper and lower gusset caps.

Sleight, David W.↗

Security-informed safety: integrating security within the safety demonstration of a smart device - 157

Safety and security engineering have, over the years, developed their own regulations, standards, cultures, and practices. However, there's a growing realisation that security is closely connected to safety. Safety must be security-informed: if a safety-critical system isn't secure, it isn't safe. A safety demonstration is incomplete and unconvincing unless it considers security. In our work for government and industry, we have used the Claims, Arguments, Evidence (CAE) framework to analyse the impact of security on a safety justification or safety case and identified the significant changes needed to address security explicitly. This will impact the design and implementation process as well as the assurance and V and V approach. In this paper we discuss the impact of integrating security when developing a safety demonstration of a smart device. A smart device is an instrument, device or component that contains a microprocessor (and therefore contains both hardware and software) and is programmed to provide specialised capabilities, often measuring or controlling a process variable. Examples of smart devices include radiation monitors, relays, turbine governors, uninterruptible power supplies and heating ventilation, and air conditioning controllers. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗

Firmware Tampering Detection in Heavy-Duty Vehicles through J1939 CAN Analysis

Modern heavy-duty vehicles rely on complex networks of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) that communicate using the J1939 protocol. While this system makes it easier to update and configure vehicle components, it also opens the door to serious cybersecurity risks if not properly secured. This work investigates the potential for firmware tampering through the J1939 communication protocol, which enables ECU configuration and reprogramming over the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. By monitoring CAN traffic during legitimate maintenance operations and reverse-engineering OEM diagnostic software, we identified common and proprietary J1939 message identifiers, authentication patterns, and vulnerabilities within Unified Diagnostic Services (UDS). These findings demonstrate that inadequate authentication mechanisms can allow malicious actors to alter ECU firmware or disable safety functions, posing severe operational and safety risks. Our analysis contributes to the development of vehicle intrusion detection systems capable of recognizing abnormal reprogramming activity and future firmware fingerprinting methods to verify software integrity across ECUs. This work highlights the importance of standardizing secure firmware authentication across manufacturers to strengthen cyber resilience in heavy-duty vehicle systems.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

The Challenges of Field Testing the Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) in an Operational Air Traffic Control Facility

The Traffic Management Advisor (TMA), the sequence and schedule tool of the Center/TRACON Automation System (CTAS), was evaluated at the Fort Worth Center (ZFW) in the summer of 1996. This paper describes the challenges encountered during the various phases of the TMA field evaluation, which included system (hardware and software) installation, personnel training, and data collection. Operational procedures were developed and applied to the evaluation process that would ensure air safety. The five weeks of field evaluation imposed minimal impact on the hosting facility and provided valuable engineering and human factors data. The collection of data was very much an opportunistic affair, due to dynamic traffic conditions. One measure of the success of the TMA evaluation is that, rather than remove TMA after the evaluation until it could be fully implemented, the prototype TMA is in continual use at ZFW as the fully operational version is readied for implementation.

Hoang, Ty↗

An MBSE Approach for Developing an Autonomous Rover Platform

The proliferation of increasingly autonomous systems calls for new ways to address how safety is assured. As these systems become more advanced and complex, it becomes more important to model and prototype autonomous functions at the systems level and the functions that assure they are operating safely and as expected. To that effect, researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 's Robust Software Engineering (RSE) group are working on prototyping a Research Autonomous Vehicle, commonly referred to as R-RAV. The R-RAV is an autonomous rover platform designed to act as a case study for assured autonomy research. Moreover, an overarching goal is for the R-RAV to serve as a training ground for other mission projects. In this paper, we will detail how we have used a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach to model a prototype of the R-RAV and test and verify its different functionalities.

MBSE↗

Requirements management at NASA

Requirements have always been acknowledged as the backbone of any system. However, in many past development efforts, requirements were paid little heed. At NASA, in recent years, the hue and cry for project development has been "Faster, Better, Cheaper and Safer". This has impacted the way we develop software; it has increased the risks to quality, safety and reliability. At NASA, the Software Assurance Technology Center (SATC) is working with projects to emphasize the criticality of requirements throughout development, not just in the initial phases. This emphasis is on requirements relationship to all aspects of quality, including reliability and safety. In this presentation, we will look at some of these relationships through the eyes of quality.

Requirement management↗

Development and Overview of CPAS Sasquatch Airdrop Landing Location Predictor Software

The Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) is the parachute system for NASA's Orion spacecraft. CPAS is currently in the Engineering Development Unit (EDU) phase of testing. The test program consists of numerous drop tests, wherein a test article rigged with parachutes is extracted from an aircraft. During such tests, range safety is paramount, as is the recoverability of the parachutes and test article. It is crucial to establish a release point from the aircraft that will ensure that the article and all items released from it during flight will land in a designated safe area. The Sasquatch footprint tool was developed to determine this safe release point and to predict the probable landing locations (footprints) of the payload and all released objects. In 2012, a new version of Sasquatch, called Sasquatch Polygons, was developed that significantly upgraded the capabilities of the footprint tool. Key improvements were an increase in the accuracy of the predictions, and the addition of an interface with the Debris Tool (DT), an in-flight debris avoidance tool for use on the test observation helicopter. Additional enhancements include improved data presentation for communication with test personnel and a streamlined code structure. This paper discusses the development, validation, and performance of Sasquatch Polygons, as well as its differences from the original Sasquatch footprint tool.

Bledsoe, Kristin J.↗

Technical Specification Surveillance Interval Extension of Digital Equipment in Nuclear Power Plants: Review and Research. Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program report

The nuclear industry has been slow to incorporate digital technology into nuclear plant designs for several reasons, including: The high cost of design change modifications to implement them, versus simply replacing them with like for like technology when the components fail; Digital technology qualification issues, particularly in safety related applications that are susceptible to software common cause failure. This is a concern both for current operating plants as well as new builds; and, General familiarity and comfort with the existing analog technology on the part of the nuclear plant engineering staff, in spite of the superior performance and reduced maintenance costs of the digital replacements. At the same time, the nuclear industry is under significant cost pressure in the electric marketplace due to the abundance of natural gas generation and renewables. The industry would benefit by investment in new technologies that could lower future operating costs while addressing obsolescence and reliability issues of the current analog technologies. However, the industry has been unable to formulate the business cases to take advantage of these labor savings and production reliability improvements. This paper discusses another potential cost savings benefit of a transition to digital technology, extending the surveillance intervals of technical specification required equipment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

A software package for plasma facing component analysis and design: the Heat flux Engineering Analysis Toolkit (HEAT)

The engineering limits of plasma facing components (PFCs) constrain the allowable operational space of tokamaks. Poorly managed heat fluxes that push the PFCs beyond their limits not only degrade core plasma performance via elevated impurities, but can also result in PFC failure due to thermal stresses or melting. Simple axisymmetric assumptions fail to capture the complex interaction between 3D PFC geometry and 2D or 3D plasmas. This results in fusion systems that must either operate with increased risk or reduce PFC loads, potentially through lower core plasma performance, to maintain a nominal safety factor. High precision 3D heat flux predictions are necessary to accurately ascertain the state of a PFC given the evolution of the magnetic equilibrium. A new code, the Heat flux Engineering Analysis Toolkit (HEAT), has been developed to provide high precision 3D predictions and analysis for PFCs. HEAT couples many otherwise disparate computational tools together into a single open source python package. Magnetic equilibrium, engineering CAD, finite volume solvers, scrape off layer plasma physics, visualization, high performace computing, and more, are connected in a single web-based user interface. Linux users may use HEAT without any software prerequisites via an appImage. This manuscript introduces HEAT, discusses the software architecture, presents first HEAT results, and outlines physics modules in development.

divertor physics↗

Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Annual Software Engineering Workshop

The Twenty-third Annual Software Engineering Workshop (SEW) provided 20 presentations designed to further the goals of the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) of the NASA-GSFC. The presentations were selected on their creativity. The sessions which were held on 2-3 of December 1998, centered on the SEL, Experimentation, Inspections, Fault Prediction, Verification and Validation, and Embedded Systems and Safety-Critical Systems.

Source record↗

Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) Risk Analysis Using Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) directorate at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) has applied its knowledge and experience with Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to projects in industries ranging from spacecraft to nuclear power plants. PRA is a comprehensive and structured process for analyzing risk in complex engineered systems and/or processes. The PRA process enables the user to identify potential risk contributors such as, hardware and software failure, human error, and external events. Recent developments in the oil and gas industry have presented opportunities for NASA to lend their PRA expertise to both ongoing and developmental projects within the industry. This paper provides an overview of the PRA process and demonstrates how this process was applied in estimating the probability that a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) operating in the Gulf of Mexico and equipped with a generically configured Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) loses location and needs to initiate an emergency disconnect. The PRA described in this paper is intended to be generic such that the vessel meets the general requirements of an International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)/Circ. 645 Class 3 dynamically positioned vessel. The results of this analysis are not intended to be applied to any specific drilling vessel, although provisions were made to allow the analysis to be configured to a specific vessel if required.

Thigpen, Eric B.↗

Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) Risk Analysis Using Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) directorate at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) has applied its knowledge and experience with Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to projects in industries ranging from spacecraft to nuclear power plants. PRA is a comprehensive and structured process for analyzing risk in complex engineered systems and/or processes. The PRA process enables the user to identify potential risk contributors such as, hardware and software failure, human error, and external events. Recent developments in the oil and gas industry have presented opportunities for NASA to lend their PRA expertise to both ongoing and developmental projects within the industry. This paper provides an overview of the PRA process and demonstrates how this process was applied in estimating the probability that a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) operating in the Gulf of Mexico and equipped with a generically configured Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) loses location and needs to initiate an emergency disconnect. The PRA described in this paper is intended to be generic such that the vessel meets the general requirements of an International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)/Circ. 645 Class 3 dynamically positioned vessel. The results of this analysis are not intended to be applied to any specific drilling vessel, although provisions were made to allow the analysis to be configured to a specific vessel if required.

Thigpen, Eric B.↗

IVHM for the 3rd Generation RLV Program: Technology Development

The objective behind the Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) project is to develop and integrate the technologies which can provide a continuous, intelligent, and adaptive health state of a vehicle and use this information to improve safety and reduce costs of operations. Technological areas discussed include: developing, validating, and transfering next generation IVHM technologies to near term industry and government reusable launch systems; focus NASA on the next generation and highly advanced sensor and software technologies; and validating IVHM systems engineering design process for future programs.

Kahle, Bill↗

National plan to enhance aviation safety through human factors improvements

The purpose of this section of the plan is to establish a development and implementation strategy plan for improving safety and efficiency in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. These improvements will be achieved through the proper applications of human factors considerations to the present and future systems. The program will have four basic goals: (1) prepare for the future system through proper hiring and training; (2) develop a controller work station team concept (managing human errors); (3) understand and address the human factors implications of negative system results; and (4) define the proper division of responsibilities and interactions between the human and the machine in ATC systems. This plan addresses six program elements which together address the overall purpose. The six program elements are: (1) determine principles of human-centered automation that will enhance aviation safety and the efficiency of the air traffic controller; (2) provide new and/or enhanced methods and techniques to measure, assess, and improve human performance in the ATC environment; (3) determine system needs and methods for information transfer between and within controller teams and between controller teams and the cockpit; (4) determine how new controller work station technology can optimally be applied and integrated to enhance safety and efficiency; (5) assess training needs and develop improved techniques and strategies for selection, training, and evaluation of controllers; and (6) develop standards, methods, and procedures for the certification and validation of human engineering in the design, testing, and implementation of any hardware or software system element which affects information flow to or from the human.

Foushee, Clay↗

Software Safety Assurance of Programmable Logic

Programmable Logic (PLC, FPGA, ASIC) devices are hybrids - hardware devices that are designed and programmed like software. As such, they fall in an assurance gray area. Programmable Logic is usually tested and verified as hardware, and the software aspects are ignored, potentially leading to safety or mission success concerns. The objective of this proposal is to first determine where and how Programmable Logic (PL) is used within NASA and document the current methods of assurance. Once that is known, raise awareness of the PL software aspects within the NASA engineering community and provide guidance for the use and assurance of PL form a software perspective.

Berens, Kalynnda↗