An approach using the b method to formal verification of PLC programs in an industrial setting

Authors:
Haniel Barbosa;David Déharbe
Affiliations:
Departamento de Informática e Matemática Aplicada, UFRN, Brazil;Departamento de Informática e Matemática Aplicada, UFRN, Brazil
Venue:
SBMF'12 Proceedings of the 15th Brazilian conference on Formal Methods: foundations and applications
Year:
2012

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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.