Overview
The goal of the project was the design and manufacture a specific test bench dedicated to give more confidence of the design in term of reliability at components level and help the user to expertise and to validate the minimum life expectation of future aircraft power electronics converters.
Endurance Tests and Reliability Prediction of avionics is a critical part of the development of on-board electronics.
For this purpose Test systems must be implemented that can deliver realistic functional and environmental conditions that allow to test and age components in use and in extreme environmental flight conditions. Traditionally this has been done by means of ATE systems for the functionality tests and with electrodynamic shaker systems and dynamic or thermal shock climatic chambers.
In advanced test systems, all three elements are combined into one system, being able to test the functionality of the onboard electronics under extreme environmental conditions.
This proposal describes a state of the art test system that will allow onboard electronic designer validate their prototypes or series hardware by means of using a test rig that ages the hardware in extreme environmental conditions.
The innovative character of the proposal comes from relevant aspects of all three main components and their also from their integration.
Funding
Results
Executive Summary:
The project was devoted to the design and manufacture of a specific multi-components test bench dedicated to the future More Electrical Aircraft (MEA) power electronic converters. The aim was to deliver realistic functional and environmental conditions to test and age components and converters in use and in extreme environmental flight conditions.
This bench is dedicated to the improvement of the reliability of the on-board power electronics and allows leading tries of verification and validation, investigation and qualification in a severe environment multi-constrained (electric, thermal, humidity, vibration). The prediction of the reliability, from the beginning of design phase, will allow to select as well the critical components as the architectures of the systems meeting the needs at best of customers and to introduce the new technologies in a mastered way.
The Power Test Bench (PTB) combine in one system a climatic chamber, a vibration test system and an electrical characterization bench test, including a Graphical User Interface to control, monitor and combine several parameters.
This test bench of combined constraints is designed to test electronic components as well as power converters of a certain dimension, having an available test surface of 850x850 mm2 and 600 mm height. It can also withstand a maximum mass of 75 kg.
PTB offers a multi-constraint test bench, in which temperature, humidity and vibration, as well as electrical parameters can be independently set according to different configurations defined by the Graphical User Interface (GUI).
In terms of environmental conditions, PTB can vary temperature from -65ºC to 180ºC, humidity from to 10 to 98% and can set vibration up to 85-100 g levels, 10 times higher than maximum accelerations defined at RTCA-DO-160.
Regarding electrical characterization, Power Test Bench is able to supply up to 1200Vdc, 400 Adc, or three-phase 312Vac, and can offer a maximum electrical power of 40KW. Characterization and acquisition of electrical and environmental parameters is implemented by a series of industrial sensors and modules and are registered and processed by our GUI, generating customizable reports.
By controlling the shaker, the climatic chamber and the AC and DC power sources from a full control system, the user is able to set the different test conditions to test the components and converters.
This PTB provides, among others expected impacts, a high efficiency in environmental testing of components due to shorter testing times derived from being able to test simultaneously, under several conditions of power, temperature and vibrations (sequentially) in multiple axes, without changing specimens’ set-up.