Patent ID: 7437200

Claim:
A method for a nuclear reactor safety related application, said method comprising: performing a first test of an application using application-specific logic implemented as hardware logic; performing a second test of the application using application-specific logic implemented as software for execution by microprocessor-based controlling software, each test executed with a same set of inputs; comparing a first test result produced from the execution of the hardware-implemented form of application-specific logic to a second test result produced from the execution of the software-implemented form of application-specific logic; when the compared results concur, performing actions associated with the concurring results by executing microprocessor-based software, such actions comprising: actuating external equipment that operate valves when the nuclear reactor is online or offline; and performing subsequent equipment and software tests; and when the compared results fail to concur, reporting the failure of the compared results to concur to an operator by executing microprocessor-based software, and thereafter placing the microprocessor-based software into an inoperative (INOP) mode.