View Latest Blog Entries
Close
Categories
Testing & Assessment Certification Standard & Regulation Aging Wires & Systems Maintenance & Sustainment Management Conference & Report Protection & Prevention Research Miscellaneous Arcing
Popular Tags
Visual Inspection High Voltage AS50881 MIL-HDBK MIL-HDBK-525 FAR AS4373 Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Maintenance FAR 25.1707 Wire System Arcing Damage
All Tags in Alphabetical Order
2021 25.1701 25.1703 abrasion AC 33.4-3 AC 43 Accelerated Aging ADMT Aging Systems AIR6808 AIR7502 Aircraft Power System aircraft safety Aircraft Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) altitude arc damage Arc Damage Modeling Tool Arc Fault (AF) Arc Fault Circuit Breaker (AFCB) Arc Track Resistance Arcing Arcing Damage AS22759 AS22759/87 AS23053 AS29606 AS4373 AS4373 Method 704 AS50881 AS5692 AS6019 AS6324 AS81824 AS83519 AS85049 AS85485 AS85485 Wire Standard ASTM B355 ASTM B470 ASTM D150 ASTM D2671 ASTM D8355 ASTM D876 ASTM F2639 ASTM F2696 ASTM F2799 ASTM F3230 ASTM F3309 ATSRAC Attenuation Automated Wire Testing System (AWTS) Automotive Avionics backshell batteries bend radius Bent Pin Analysis Best of Lectromec Best Practice bonding Cable Cable Bend cable testing Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Certification cfr 25.1717 Chafing Chemical Testing Circuit Breaker circuit design Circuit Protection cleaning clearance Coaxial cable cold bend collision comparative analysis Compliance Component Selection Condition Based Maintenance Conductor Conductor Testing conductors conduit Connector Connector rating connector selection connector testing connectors contacts Corona Corrosion Corrosion Preventing Compound (CPC) corrosion prevention Cracking creepage D-sub data analysis data cables degradat Degradation Delamination Derating design safety development diagnostic Dielectric breakdown dielectric constant Dimensional Life disinfectant Distributed Power System DO-160 dry arc dynamic cut through E-CFR electric aircraft Electrical Aircraft Electrical Component Electrical Power Electrical Testing Electrified Vehicles Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Electromagnetic Vulnerability (EMV) Electrostatic Discharge EMC EMF EN2235 EN3197 EN3475 EN6059 End of Service Life End of Year Energy Storage engines Environmental Environmental Cycling environmental stress ethernet eVTOL EWIS certification EWIS Component EWIS Design EWIS Failure EWIS sustainment EWIS Thermal Management EZAP FAA FAA AC 25.27 FAA AC 25.981-1C FAA Meeting failure conditions Failure Database Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) FAQs FAR FAR 25.1703 FAR 25.1707 FAR 25.1709 Fault fault tree Fixturing Flammability fleet reliability Flex Testing fluid exposure Fluid Immersion Forced Hydrolysis fuel system fuel tank ignition Functional Hazard Assessment functional testing Fundamental Articles Fuse Future Tech galvanic corrosion Glycol Gold Gold plating Green Taxiing Grounding hand sanitizer handbook Harness Design harness protection hazard Hazard Analysis health monitoring heat shrink heat shrink tubing high current high Frequency high speed data cable High Voltage High Voltage Degradation HIRF History Hot Stamping Humidity Variation HV connector HV system ICAs IEC 60851 IEC60172 IEEE immersion insertion loss Inspection installation installation safety Instructions for Continued Airworthiness insulating material insulating tape Insulation insulation breakdown insulation resistance insulation testing interchangeability IPC-D-620 ISO 17025 Certified Lab ISO 9000 J1673 Kapton Laser Marking life limit life limited parts Life prediction life projection Lightning lightning protection liquid nitrogen lithium battery lunar Magnet wire maintainability Maintenance Maintenance costs Mandrel mean free path measurement mechanical stress Mechanical Testing MECSIP MIL-C-38999 MIL-C-85485 MIL-DTL-17 MIL-DTL-23053E MIL-DTL-3885G MIL-DTL-38999 MIL-E-25499 MIL-HDBK MIL-HDBK-1646 MIL-HDBK-217 MIL-HDBK-454 MIL-HDBK-516 MIL-HDBK-522 MIL-HDBK-525 MIL-HDBK-683 MIL-STD-1353 MIL-STD-1560 MIL-STD-1798 MIL-STD-464 MIL-T-7928 MIL-T-7928/5 MIL-T-81490 MIL-W-22759/87 MIL-W-5088 MIL–STD–5088 Military 5088 modeling moon MS3320 NASA NEMA27500 Nickel nickel plating No Fault Found OEM off gassing Outgassing Over current Overheating of Wire Harness Parallel Arcing part selection Partial Discharge partial discharge at altitude Performance physical hazard assessment Physical Testing polyamide polyimdie Polyimide-PTFE Power over Ethernet power system Power systems predictive maintenance Presentation Preventative Maintenance Program Probability of Failure Product Quality PTFE pull through Radiation Red Plague Corrosion Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations relays Reliability Research Resistance Revision C Rewiring Project Risk Assessment S&T Meeting SAE SAE Committee Sanitizing Fluids Secondary Harness Protection separation Separation Requirements Series Arcing Service Life Extension Severe Wind and Moisture-Prone (SWAMP) Severity of Failure shelf life Shield Shielding Shrinkage signal signal cable Silver silver plated wire silver-plating skin depth skin effect Small aircraft smoke Solid State Circuit Breaker Space Certified Wires Splice standards Storage stored energy superconductor supportability Sustainment System Voltage Temperature Rating Temperature Variation Test methods Test Pricing Testing testing standard Thermal Circuit Breaker Thermal Endurance Thermal Index Thermal Runaway Thermal Shock Thermal Testing tin Tin plated conductors tin plating tin solder tin whiskering tin whiskers top 5 Transient Troubleshooting TWA800 UAVs UL94 USAF validation verification video Visual Inspection voltage voltage differential Voltage Tolerance volume resistivity vw-1 wet arc white paper whitelisting Winding wire Wire Ampacity Wire Bend Wire Certification Wire Comparison wire damage wire failure wire performance wire properties Wire System wire testing Wire Verification wiring components work unit code

Wire & Cable meets Lectromec: A summary of the interview

Aging Wires & Systems

Mike Traskos
Mike Traskos

Last week Michael Traskos, President of Lectromec and noted EWIS expert, sat down with Mary Gannon, Senior Writer from Wire & Cable Tips, for a podcast interview. The topics ranged from defining wire life extension programs to durability of wiring systems. Below is a short summary of the interview.

Mary: Tell us about some of the trends in aerospace wiring.

Michael: Before we get started we have to put wiring into perspective. Did you know that a 747 has over one hundred and fifty miles of wires? With that in mind, wiring should be viewed as a major part of aircraft maintenance. Typically, maintenance organizations will look at structures and avionics, but not the wiring.

Mary: What happens if the wire system is not maintained?

Michael: Nobody likes to mention this, but the worst case scenario is aircraft loss. TWA 800 and Swiss Air 111 are two examples of wire system failure and catastrophic events. Please note that not every wiring failure will result in a disaster—some could be as innocuous as a light not working.

Mary: What are the most common types of problems?

Michael: Essentially, wiring issues can be separated into three areas. The first is installation. If not done properly, wires can chafe and get pinched. The second is the unintended consequence of damage caused by maintenance done on the plane. This can put wires under stress. Finally, degradation of wire: an aircraft may be designed to last 20 to 30 years. You may have a situation where the engines and avionics last longer than the wiring. Wires can wear out and cause failures.

Mary: How do the wire service programs work?

Michael: The best was generated through a US Air Force process. It is a seven-task process that goes through the identification of what needs to be replaced and whether the aircraft needs additional maintenance or may be operating perfectly.

Mary: How long are they usually in play?

ewis

Michael: Aircraft are designed for 20 to 30 years. Some, that are in excellent condition, can run longer. Lectromec has been doing this for over 30 years. As a result of our experience, we can forecast wire reliability 20 years down the road. Depending on your application, you may only need wiring to last for only five or ten years. It’s obvious that there is no need for wiring to last longer than aircraft.

Example: A lot of military programs are reaching the end of their original service life. If you know you need to replace the wires in 10 years, you can budget money for that process.

Mary: Can they be used in other industries?

Michael: We like to think our services are device agnostic. Wires can be found in many kinds of equipment. The only slight difference is the kind of insulation and kind of connectors. The overall process is viable for any platform.

Mary: What is the future for wire design and aircraft?

Michael: Mary, I’ve been privileged to have attended several aerospace conferences in the past 12 months. From my perspective, there is an initiative to move away from mechanical systems, like hydraulic or pneumatic equipment. The goal is to replace them with electrical systems. After all, electrical systems weigh less. This would result in huge weight savings.

A parallel trend is an increase in the amount of power on an aircraft. For example, a Boeing 787 can generate up to 1.3 MW of power. However, there is a concern regarding how to certify a system that has that much power. Higher voltages can cause damage. There are some concerns in the community about higher voltages. We have no track record about what will happen to wires systems and connectors at higher voltages in 15 or 20 years.

Mary: Sounds like a challenge to work with maintenance personnel and get them up to speed for electrical maintenance.

Michael: Yes indeed. Today, it is not just a “fit and forget.” Maintenance people will have to take more care during the entire life cycle of the aircraft.

Mary: Sounds like an interesting future.