Unambiguous Interpretation of IEC 60848 GRAFCET based on a Literature Review

TL;DR

This paper reviews existing interpretations of IEC 60848 GRAFCET, identifies ambiguities, and proposes a comprehensive interpretation algorithm to ensure unambiguous understanding and implementation.

Contribution

It provides a systematic overview of literature-based ambiguities and introduces a novel interpretation algorithm for IEC 60848 GRAFCET.

Findings

Identified key ambiguities in GRAFCET specifications

Developed a comprehensive interpretation algorithm

Enhanced clarity for correct implementations

Abstract

IEC 60848 GRAFCET is a standardized, graphical specification language for control functions. Because of the semiformal nature of IEC 60848, the details of specifications created with GRAFCET can be interpreted in different ways, possibly leading to faulty implementations. These ambiguities have been partially addressed in existing literature, but solved in different manners. Based on a literature review, this work aims at providing an overview of existing interpretations and, based on that, proposes a comprehensive interpretation algorithm for IEC 60848, which takes all relevant ambiguities from the literature review into account.