Summary

The importance of the reliability of the computer control system can be easily appreciated in the context of life-critical applications such as hazardous chemical plants, nuclear reactors, military systems, intensive care units, and aerospace systems. It is imperative that designers should demonstrably verify and validate the reliability and fault-tolerant behaviour of real time computer control systems. Beginning with a brief introduction to Reliability Theory, this book presents a state-of-the-art methodology for the design of reliable computer control systems, detailing methods for failure analysis to identify critical failures, systematic procedures for fault monitor design using control-theoretic techniques, and strategies for the design of fault-tolerant computer systems. Various concepts, tools and techniques from such diverse areas as computer science, automatic control, reliability theory, and process systems engineering, are collected and presented in a self-contained manner.