A Research Study for the Design of a Portable and Configurable Ground Test System for the A400M Aircraft

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the most suitable ground test equipment for the Airbus A400M aircraft aimed at optimizing a design that combines portability, flexibility, and configurability. The study is based on current trends in the configuration of the different parts that are involved in the process of designing Aircraft Interface Modules (AIMs). Researches have been conducted facing the real problems of data acquisition and control in the assembly, maintenance, and repair processes of aircraft. In this sense, the number of signals used simultaneously in historical tests has been determined to be a parameter that plays an important role in the analysis. This work is within the framework of a project that our working group of the Department of Electronic Technology has carried out together with the company Airbus Defense and Space (Airbus DS). Thus, all the analyses and researches for the different configurations of the test equipment have been validated for the company. Some state-of-the-art systems have been considered in the process of designing the structure of the test system while analyzing the main advantages and drawbacks. Every hardware or software component was identified and justified according to its importance with respect to the use case. A comparison of how every approach meets the requirements was taken into account to define a methodology for designing a portable and configurable ground testing system. Thus, the conclusions of our study are being used by Airbus DS for the design of a prototype for the next generation of AIMs in A400M.