Avionics Power Standards Compliance Testing

Avionics Power Importance – As aircraft electronics continue to evolve, so do their power requirements. Aircraft systems have grown from their original 115Vac L-N / 208Vac L-L at 400Hz fixed frequency roots to sophisticated on-board power systems operating at 115Vac and 230Vac and frequencies ranging from 360 to 800Hz. This approach is known as ‘wild’ frequency. It simplifies mechanical complexities of engine powered electrical generators.  On board generators are now able to allow the frequency to vary with engine speed. Today there are a number of both Aerospace AC and DC power standards which both commercial and military aircraft systems have to comply.

Commercial avionics tests standards such as DO-160 and EuroCAE 14 have a wide range of AC power immunity tests that have to be performed on airborne electronics. More recently, several commercial aircraft manufacturers have developed their own version of these test standards based largely on DO-160. Examples are Airbus ABD0100.1.8 (A380), ABD0100.1.8.1 (A350), Airbus AMD24C (A400M) and Boeing B787 (Dreamliner).

Military aircraft electronics have to comply with standards such as MIL-STD-704. These standards evolve along the same lines as commercial standards. Pacific Power Source’s products have grown from the capability to power aircraft electronics at 115Vac and 400Hz to full AC Power Compliance Test Systems today.  Advanced Windows control software manages test sequences and provides documentation on product conformance.

Pacific Power Source’s programmable AC power sources in combination with a range of software options replicate the environments required to test for compliance to Aerospace power test requirements.

Varying frequency, voltage, or harmonics, the AC power source can provide extensive control and simulation of the AC power on an aircraft. From small systems at the 500VA level to a full aircraft at 100’s of VA, Pacific Power Source’s systems are used the world over to test a wide variety of avionics loads for AC power compatibility with today’s Aerospace test standards.

Avionics Compliance Test

Several avionics test standard for both military and commercial aviation exist to ensure airborne equipment is immune to power bus fluctuations and anomalies that may occur during flight. A precision single or three phase AC power source is required to perform such tests. With the user of available pre-written test sequences for various avionics test standard, significant time savings can be accomplished to perform these tests.  Test report generation is part of these avionics test options and provides detailed information on the applied AC power stimulus and any unit under test (UUT) behavior observed by the test operator. This allows tests to be documented and filed to document compliance of the UUT.

Test sequence options are currently available for the following avionics test standards with more being added on an on-going basis.  If you don’t find the tests you are looking for in this list, please contact Pacific Power Source for updated information on pending option releases.

Download Avionics Compliance Test Options Data Sheet