Design and verification of a multiple fault tolerant control system for STS applications using computer simulationGeneral Dynamics/Convair is under NASA contract to integrate the Centaur upper stage into the space transportation system for future planetary missions. This requires that control of all safety critical functions be two-failure tolerant. The control system developed consists of five asynchronous computers, each contributing at their outputs to a 3-out-of-5 voting plane. Subsystem control is based on an end function redundancy management scheme. Analysis of multiple component failures and worst-case time-phase asynchrony among the computers is performed by a real-time computer simulation. The simulation emulates the hardware and subsystem interfaces, wire by wire, providing assessibility to any component for the insertion of preprogrammed failures. Observability is provided via a graphics system and diagnostic software. The simulation provides an engineering tool where the integrity of control system hardware and imbedded software can be demonstrated.
Document ID
19820026589
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Szatkowski, G. P. (General Dynamics/Convair San Diego, CA, United States)
Karas, J. C. (General Dynamics Corp. Convair Div., San Diego, CA, United States)