Background

An aerospace Tier 1 company was selected as the supplier of choice for an advanced alternate electrical power generation and conversion system.  To meet the high-power density and power demands of the next generation aircraft, the underlying technology needed to undergo a technology maturation test program leading to full scale development and qualification testing.  The complex test program required an industry leading system integration test facility, custom specialized test equipment and a plan for conformity and conformed testing.  The company initially contracted Kaney to architect and perform conceptual design of a “conformable” alternate electrical power system integration laboratory.  During this initial phase, the company went further and requested Kaney to also perform detailed analysis, complete detailed design and documentation, and to physically build and validate the associated test equipment.  

Result

The customer developed a functional, safe and reliable electrical power system integration facility that included real and synthetic power sources, over 15 miles of aircraft, control and instrumentation wiring, instrumentation and aircraft data bus communication equipment.  The resulting system integration laboratory exceeded all the technical, programmatic and quality requirements of the company and its customer.  The system integration laboratory test equipment has been in continuous reliable operation for over three years.   The result was a successful risk mitigation test program leading to ongoing formal qualification testing.  

Kaney’s Involvement

Kaney provided an experienced “hands on” system engineering team to architect the system integration laboratory and complete conceptual design.  Kaney then stood up a flexible team of ten to twenty+ engineers, technicians and test operators to complete detailed design, manufacturing and to support the customer on site at its facility. To minimize customer disruption and to minimize cost Kaney designed and built the equipment off site at its own facility, performed validation checkout, completed necessary integration steps and completed all necessary drawings, user manuals and manufacturing documentation.  Kaney then disassembled the integrated laboratory, packaged and shipped the equipment to the customer and assisted in its final installation and commissioning.  Kaney provided a laboratory “Rig Log” data base to aid in conformity compliance.

Kaney supported the development of test plans, procedures and standard operating procedures.  Kaney provided a system Synoptic using a combination of instrumentation and control system communications data.  This provided an added level of safety situational awareness; particularly important during hazardous fault insertion testing and failure analysis.