Calculation of the Dangerous Failure Rate of the Safety Function

Abstract

Each safety-related function must be implemented with a defined safety integrity level (SIL) if the control system implements safety-related functions (SFs) in addition to the standard control functions. The required SIL of the SF depends on the quantity of the risk associated with the failure of this one SF. The SIL against random failure can be expressed through the dangerous failure rate of the SF for an electronic safety-related control system (ESRCS) operating in a continuous mode of operation. The proof must be provided (among other things) that the SIL requirements for the individual SFs are met so the ESRCS can be accepted and implemented. The assessment of the impact of random failures on the SIL of the SF must be performed using the quantitative analysis method. This paper describes the procedure and derives equations for evaluating the impact of random failure on SIL of the SF using Markov chains with two absorption states. The achieved results are presented for SF implemented by ESRCS with dual architecture based on composite fail-safety technique.