Fault Detection of Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems using Integrated Electromagnetic Compatibility and Automated Functional Testing

Electromagnetic compatibility testing guidelines developed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Electric Power Research Institute are currently used in the nuclear industry to ensure that digital equipment can operate safely in the electromagnetic environment of a typical nuclear power plant.While the current testing standards provide industry-accepted methodologies and criteria for the evaluation of digital systems, the industry does not emphasize assessment across multiple operating modes of the equipment under test.As such, possible design faults or equipment susceptibilities may go undetected during testing.Furthermore, the complexity of modern digital systems often makes testing multiple operating modes impractical.This project proposes the design, development, and demonstration of a system that integrates electromagnetic compatibility and automated functional testing to enable comprehensive assessment and fault detection of digital instrumentation and control systems.The proposing firm will leverage its expertise in digital instrumentation and control qualification testing to conduct a hands-on research and development effort involving detailed electromagnetic/radio frequency interference fault research, laboratory testing, and hardware/software design.The Phase I work successfully demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of this integrated testing methodology.Digital devices were subjected to simultaneous electromagnetic compatibility and automated functional testing in a laboratory environment.While this testing required a considerable amount of manual effort, the testing methodology successfully revealed faults not identified when performing the tests separately.The Phase I research also provided insight into developing a common platform for integrated electromagnetic compatibility and automated functional testing.The work proposed will employ a comprehensive, hands-on approach to produce an integrated system to perform automated functional and electromagnetic compatibility testing simultaneously on digital devices.The initial step will be to specify the software and hardware requirements for the commercial system, using the work performed in Phase I as the starting point.Engineers will then begin developing standalone software modules for test configuration, electromagnetic compatibility testing and automated functional testing, hardware communication, reporting, and utilities.These modules will be combined into an integrated system, which will be validated and demonstrated using representative digital devices.The product of this project will significantly streamline electromagnetic compatibility testing effort and give vendors and utilities more confidence in the robustness of their digital systems.This will enable the industry to replace more obsolete analog equipment and achieve the cost savings associated with upgrading to modern digital systems.These benefits will be passed on to the public by improving the safety and minimizing the operational cost of nuclear power plants.