Programmable electronics in safety-critical systems-a practical survey

Many nuclear power plants need to upgrade their old systems for instrumentation and control due to problems with aging. Introducing programmable electronics into safety-critical systems include many uncertainties. Therefore the utility needs clear and precise guidelines, standards, methods for verification and validation, and instructions for maintenance of programmable electronics. In this paper an overview over the problem area and experiences on programmable electronics made through a survey at the Swedish nuclear industry is presented