Fault behavior observation of a microprocessor system through a VHDL simulation-based fault injection experiment

Abstract

Evaluating and possibly improving the fault tolerance and error detecting mechanisms is becoming a key issue when designing safety-critical electronic systems. The proposed approach is based on simulation-based fault injection and allows the analysis of the system behavior when faults occur. The paper describes how a microprocessor board employed in an automated light-metro control system has been modeled in VHDL and a Fault Injection Environment has been set up using a commercial simulator. Preliminary results about the effectiveness of the hardware fault-detection mechanisms are also reported. Such results will address the activity of experimental evaluation in subsequent phases of the validation process.