Standards are set for nuclear control software
An
IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jun 21, 2006
The IEC has published the second edition of a standard that details software related requirements for computer-based instrumentation and control systems of nuclear power plants.
The IEC has published the second edition of a standard developed by its Subcommittee 45A (Instrumentation and control of nuclear facilities) that details software related requirements for computer-based instrumentation and control (I and C) systems of nuclear power plants.
Designed for the nuclear sector, IEC60880 Ed 2.0: "Nuclear power plants - Instrumentation and control systems important to safety - Software aspects for computer-based systems performing category A functions", is for systems developers, purchasers and users as well as systems assessors and licensors.
It replaces the first edition but also the second part published in 2000, which has been integrated into the new edition so that it now covers all of the most important software safety issues that need to be addressed.
According to SC45A Secretary, Jean-Paul Bouard: "Although many of the requirements described in the first edition continued to be relevant, reasons for developing a new edition of IEC60880 included the need to align with rapidly evolving software engineering techniques during the past 10 years".
The original standard was first published in 1986 and was the first to give recommendations for the use of software in nuclear safety systems.
Also, to ensure the high reliability of such equipment and systems, the new edition describes each stage of software generation and documentation, including requirements specification, design, implementation, verification, validation and operation.
Like other standards prepared by IEC SC45A, the publication details the principles and basic safety aspects that pertain to the safety of nuclear power plants provided in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Code and safety series.
Thus, the terminology and definitions used in the new standard are consistent with those used by the IAEA.
The top level document of the SC45A standard series, IEC61513, adopts a presentation format similar to the basic safety publication IEC61508 and provides an interpretation of the general requirements of parts 1, 2 and 4 of IEC61508.
Within this framework IEC60880 Ed 2.0 and IEC62138 - another standard that addresses software aspects for computer-based systems - also correspond to IEC61508's part 3 for the nuclear application sector.
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