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An Approach Using the B Method to Formal Verification of PLC Programs in an Industrial Setting

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Formal Methods: Foundations and Applications (SBMF 2012)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 7498))

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Abstract

This paper presents an approach to verify PLCs, a common platform to control systems in the industry. We automatically translate PLC programs written in the languages of the IEC 61131-3 standard to B models, amenable to formal analysis of safety constraints and general structural properties of the application. This approach thus integrates formal methods into existing industrial processes, increasing the confidence in PLC applications, nowadays validated mostly through testing and simulation. The transformation from the PLC programs to the B models is described in detail in the paper. We also evaluate the approach’s potential with a case study in a real railway application.

Project supported by ANP. CNPq grants 560014/2010-4 and 573964/2008-4 (National Institute of Science and Technology for Software Engineering—INES, www.ines.org.br ).

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Barbosa, H., Déharbe, D. (2012). An Approach Using the B Method to Formal Verification of PLC Programs in an Industrial Setting. In: Gheyi, R., Naumann, D. (eds) Formal Methods: Foundations and Applications. SBMF 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7498. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33296-8_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33296-8_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33295-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33296-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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