Safety Assessment Process Optimization for Integrated Modular Avionics

In order to evaluate the safety impacts introduced by the additional interactions between the software partition and the integrated modular avionics platform, an optimized safety assessment process is proposed to address the software partition specific failure mode, quantitative failure rate budget allocation, software reliability verification, and feedback to higher level safety assessment. With a case study based on an airborne datalink system, the optimized safety assessment process is discussed in detail, including the specific failure condition and corresponding preventive/corrective actions, the allocation and verification of software partition failure rate, as well as the feedback channel of these partition software failure rate to item/function failure mode and effect assessment. A reliability framework of partition software is also presented to support the reliability verification of partition software. The methodology is applicable to other IMA-based avionics system.