Parameter uncertainty modeling of safety instrumented systems

In this study,a novel safety integrity level(SIL)determination methodology of safety instrumented systems(SISs)with parameter uncertainty is proposed by combining multistage dynamic Bayesian networks(DBNs)and Monte Carlo simulation.A multistage DBN model for SIL determination with multiple redundant cells is established.The models of function inspection test interval and function inspection test stages are alternately connected to form the multistage DBNs.The redundant cells can have different M out of N voting system architectures.An automatic modeling of conditional probability between nodes is developed.The SIL determination of SISs with parameter uncertainty is constructed by using the multistage DBNs and Monte Carlo simulation.A high-pressure SIS in the export of oil wellplatform is adopted to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach.The SIL and availability of the SIS and its subsystems are obtained.The influence of single subsystem on the SIL and availability of the SIS is studied.The influence of single redundant element on the SIL and availability of the subsystem is analyzed.A user-friendly SIL determination software with parameter uncertainty is developed on MATLAB graphical user interface.

Design of a personnel safety interlock system for proton therapy

Proton therapy is the most advanced radiotherapy approach in the world,and causes less damage to normal human tissue than traditional radiotherapy.Because the treatment process produces a high-energy proton beam,the personnel safety interlock system mainly considers measures to protect personnel from radiation hazards during beam preparation and the beam release process.Unlike other safety interlock systems,the personnel safety interlock system designed in this study focuses on the safety and stability of the system itself.The hardware and software of important interlock control loops are designed and developed according to the requirements of Safety Integrity Level 3 specified by IEC61508.A set of redundant ring networks was developed to ensure that damage to a certain network line does not affect the normal operation of the system.A set of friendly operation interfaces and data storage systems were developed to ensure that the operator can monitor the data in real time and trace the data.The personnel safety interlock system mainly includes a beam enabling function,clearance function,and emergency stop function.The system was put into actual use and successfully ensured personnel safety.

Development and engineering application of integrated safety monitoring systems for China’s high-speed trains

With the improvement of the running speed of China’s high-speed trains,the demands for running status monitoring and security assurance of High-speed Electric Multiple Units(EMU)have increased significantly.However,the current safety monitoring systems are independent,which is not conducive to the comprehensive monitoring and information sharing of the whole vehicle.The temperature monitoring of running gear is insensitive to early failures.How to develop a train operation safety monitoring system with strong engineering implementation and high integration is a key problem to be solved.For the monitoring of running stationarity,frame stability and running gear health of China’s high-speed trains,an integrated safety monitoring system framework is designed,and the logic and algorithm for the diagnosis of stationarity,stability and health states of rotating parts are constructed.Monitoring software which fused the temperature,high and low frequency vibration data is developed,and the design and installation of the vibration temperature composite sensors are completed.The research results have realized the integration and comprehensive processing of multiple monitoring systems,completed the improvement from single component and vehicle-level safety monitoring to multi-system,train-level and interactive monitoring.In the process of real vehicle application,the developed monitoring system acquires the vehicle operation status data accurately and in real time.The constructed diagnosis algorithm and logic evaluates the vehicle operation status accurately and in a timely manner,and avoids the progression from fault to accident.The research results show that the integrated safety monitoring system can provide technical support for train operation safety.

An approach to operational risk modeling and estimation of safety levels for deep water work class remotely operated vehicle-A case study with reference to ROSUB 6000

This paper presents a quantitative approach to operational risk modeling and estimation of safety integrity levels,required for the deep water electric work class remotely operated vehicle with reference to ROSUB6000 developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology,India.ROSUB6000 is used for carrying out bathymetric surveys,gas hydrate surveys,poly-metallic nodule exploration,salvage operations,and meeting emergency response situations.The system is expected to be in operation for a period of 300 h per year,and has to be extremely safe and reliable.Methods and models for the quantitative assessment of operational safety and estimation of safety integrity levels for ROV are seldom available in the deep water intervention industry.The safety instrumented functions implemented in the ROV should be able to meet the SIL requirements of specific mission.This study indicates that the required safety factors are implemented into the design of the state-of-the-art ROV ROSUB 6000,considering IEC 61508/61511 recommendations on Health,Safety and Environment and it is found that the system is able to meet the required SIL for seven identified functions.This paper gives the design and safety engineers in the ROV industry,an overview of the numerical operational risk assessment methods and safety-centered ROV engineering.

Respiratory support for severe acute respiratory syndrome: integration of efficacy and safety

Severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） is an acute respiratory illness caused by infection with the SARS virus. The most obvious clinical characteristic of SARS is rapidly progressive pneumonia, and about 20% patients need intensive care due to acute lung injury （ALI） and acute respiratory distress syndrome （ARDS）.1-3 In the absence of effective drugs for SARS, supportive care, especially respiratory support techniques （RSTs）, is of primary importance. On the other hand, offering RSTs to SARS patients may carry a high-risk of infection to healthcare workers because of the high infectivity of SARS. Therefore, the strategy of RSTs for SARS should be the integration of efficacy and safety. In this issue of the Chinese Medical Journal, an article from Hong Kong has retrospectively compared both the safety and efficacy of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation （NIPPV） with that of invasive mechanical ventilation （IMV） in the treatment of respiratory failure in SARS.

Design and RAMS Analysis of a Fault-Tolerant Computer Control System

This paper presents a fault-tolerant computer system. It is designed as a double 2-out-of-2 architecture based on component redundant technique. Also, a quantitative probabilistic model is presented for evaluating the reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS) of this architecture. Hierarchical modeling method and Markov modeling method are used in RAMS analysis to evaluate the system characteristics. The double 2-out-of-2 system is compared with the other two systems, all voting triple modular redundancy (AVTMR) system and dual-duplex system. According to the result, the double 2-out-of-2 system has the highest dependability. Especially, the system can satisfy the safety integrity level (SIL) 4, which means the system’s probability of catastrophic failure less than or equal to 10-8 per hour, therefore, it can be applied to life critical systems such as high-speed railway systems.