In June 2019, Lectromec was asked to present at the USAF Mechanical Equipment and Subsystems Integrity Program (MESCIP) conference. With the electrical wiring interconnect system (EWIS) working its way into fleet sustainment activities, fleets now must take and apply the EWIS lessons learned.
Since the commercial segment has been subject to the 25.17XX EWIS regulations for more than a decade, the presentation examined the intended and unintended consequences of these regulations. For those seeking to integrate EWIS concepts into their fleet maintenance practices, this presentation gives an overview of the factors to be considered for your fleet.
Read moreThe More Electric Aircraft (MEA) design concept has placed, and will continue to place, a greater importance on aircraft electrical power and the supporting Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS) to accomplish flight critical tasks. To take the greatest advantage of weight savings from using electrically powered components, higher voltages have been brought into the aircraft power architecture.
The goal of Lectromec’s research was to generate data of the potential impact of EWIS component failure. Even with high voltage systems having been fielded for a couple decades, much of the published research provides information on the failure of 115VAC and 28VDC power systems. This research performed by Lectromec sought to fill in that gap.
Read moreWire and cable standards are never proactive, but reactive to industry needs, and as the aviation world moves to high power systems, wire and cable must catch up to ensure the products are available for long reliable service life. Twice a year the SAE wire/cable community comes together to slowly push the standards and industry guidance forward; this year, New Orleans was the setting.
During this three-day meeting, several topics were discussed impacting the next generation of aircraft designs. Here, we cover a couple of these developments.
Read moreHaving well-defined and recognized system boundaries is the best means to ensure an analysis of that system is robust and does not leave any analysis gaps. Without an established limit and assigned responsibilities, arguments will ensue as to who is the responsible party and time/effort will be wasted with duplicated analysis.
Because an aircraft’s wiring touches nearly all of the systems, it can be confusing to understand where the system starts and stops, and this has led to confusion as to the responsible party for the wiring system design and/or maintenance. Some organizations have seen the responsibility fall on the electrical power systems teams, others, avionics. Regardless of who takes up the responsibility, a clear definition of the wiring system’s physical and logical boundaries must be agreed upon. Thankfully, there are several industry documents that can be relied upon.
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