6 research outputs found
Increasing System Test Coverage in Production Automation Systems
An approach is introduced, which supports a testing technician in the
identification of possibly untested behavior of control software of fully
integrated automated production systems (aPS). Based on an approach for guided
semi-automatic system testing, execution traces are recorded during testing,
allowing a subsequent coverage assessment. As the behavior of an aPS is highly
dependent on the software, omitted system behavior can be identified and
assessed for criticality. Through close cooperation with industry, this
approach represents the first coverage assessment approach for system testing
in production automation to be applied on real industrial objects and evaluated
by industrial experts
Industrially Applicable System Regression Test Prioritization in Production Automation
When changes are performed on an automated production system (aPS), new
faults can be accidentally introduced in the system, which are called
regressions. A common method for finding these faults is regression testing. In
most cases, this regression testing process is performed under high time
pressure and on-site in a very uncomfortable environment. Until now, there is
no automated support for finding and prioritizing system test cases regarding
the fully integrated aPS that are suitable for finding regressions. Thus, the
testing technician has to rely on personal intuition and experience, possibly
choosing an inappropriate order of test cases, finding regressions at a very
late stage of the test run. Using a suitable prioritization, this iterative
process of finding and fixing regressions can be streamlined and a lot of time
can be saved by executing test cases likely to identify new regressions
earlier. Thus, an approach is presented in this paper that uses previously
acquired runtime data from past test executions and performs a change
identification and impact analysis to prioritize test cases that have a high
probability to unveil regressions caused by side effects of a system change.
The approach was developed in cooperation with reputable industrial partners
active in the field of aPS engineering, ensuring a development in line with
industrial requirements. An industrial case study and an expert evaluation were
performed, showing promising results.Comment: 13 pages, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8320514
Modularity and Architecture of PLC-based Software for Automated Production Systems: An analysis in industrial companies
Adaptive and flexible production systems require modular and reusable
software especially considering their long term life cycle of up to 50 years.
SWMAT4aPS, an approach to measure Software Maturity for automated Production
Systems is introduced. The approach identifies weaknesses and strengths of
various companie's solutions for modularity of software in the design of
automated Production Systems (aPS). At first, a self assessed questionnaire is
used to evaluate a large number of companies concerning their software
maturity. Secondly, we analyze PLC code, architectural levels, workflows and
abilities to configure code automatically out of engineering information in
four selected companies. In this paper, the questionnaire results from 16
German world leading companies in machine and plant manufacturing and four case
studies validating the results from the detailed analyses are introduced to
prove the applicability of the approach and give a survey of the state of the
art in industry
Generalized Test Tables: A Powerful and Intuitive Specification Language for Reactive Systems
Experimental-numerical analysis of the fracture process in smooth and notched V specimens
This paper presents the outcomes of quality tests conducted on specimens, both smooth and V-notched, subjected to uniaxial tension, which were extracted from a gas transport pipeline. The introduction of the V-notch introduced variations in the stress and strain component fields near the plane of maximum constriction, consequently leading to their failure through different mechanisms. The process included the implementation of quality management practices such as numerical modeling and simulation of the loading of the specimens using ABAQUS. The material model employed in these calculations was defined and verified to ensure quality control. Subsequent to the numerical calculations, maps of the stress and strain component fields were generated, contributing to the quality assessment of the specimens. It was determined that the quality management process for the smooth specimen identifies the initiation of failure primarily due to the normal stress component in the central region of the plane with the largest constriction. In contrast, in the V-notched specimen, quality management efforts revealed that failure initiation occurs due to the tangential stress component, and failure proceeds through the shear mechanism. These results are valuable in developing a quality-driven methodology for monitoring the operational safety of gas network pipelines, primarily based on the analysis of acoustic emission signals