The OCRC fuel cell lab safety system: a self-stabilizing safety-critical system

  • Authors:
  • William Leal;Micah McCreery;Daniel Faria

  • Affiliations:
  • The Ohio State University;Battelle;Accenture

  • Venue:
  • SSS'11 Proceedings of the 13th international conference on Stabilization, safety, and security of distributed systems
  • Year:
  • 2011

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Abstract

We describe the practical application of self-stabilization to a safety-critical system. The Ohio Coal Research Center (OCRC) at Ohio University has a fuel-cell laboratory that uses explosive and poisonous gases. The lab is located in and uses the ventilation system of a large campus building that houses offices, other labs, and classrooms. The OCRC fuel cell lab safety system seeks to protect lab and other building personnel in the event of a gas leak. We present the system and the use of self-stabilization to ensure that, in the presence of actual or potential hazards, the lab converges to as safe a state as possible. It is responds to environmental conditions such as gas leaks and is tolerant to faults that affect the system's sensors and actuators.