A design flow with integrated verification of requirements and faults in safety-critical systems

Complex systems design requires a time-consuming verification process in support of the safety and maintenance requirements. In this paper, we describe an integrated verification flow of system requirements as well as system fault behaviors and fault-tolerant properties. The process converts XML-based architectural descriptions into SystemC simulation modules tied to predefined libraries. Flexible fault injection modules and test benches are also generated automatically. As an example, we use an aircraft electrical power system design and show simulation results with and without hardware redundancies to verify the system functionality. The simulation results with different redundancy configurations can help designers evaluate the potential risk of power loss scenarios and optimize the system design.