DATA ACQUISITION
or calculated data warnings, error states or
telemetry downlink data stream changes
can be defined. These warning and fault
conditions can facilitate decision making
during the flight test either on board
(signals to pilots or on-board test
engineers), on the ground (send these
events by telemetry to the ground) or
logging them in a file to accelerate analysis
during post-processing.
Data Processing to produce post-mission
ready data is now possible to reduce
preparation of data for follow-on
processing. One target of post-processing
concentrates in many cases on finding only
sections of interest of the whole flight test
time – it may include calculation of
minimum/maximum values and frequency
domain analysis. The goal is to be able to
make quick decisions or localize the proper
area for further analysis. The on-board
data processing unit may help finding
these time sections by creating the values
of interest already during the flight and
storing them into a separate file. The
download and analysis of these files can be
done relatively quickly; the results can be
obtained almost instantaneously after a
test flight.
On-Board Data Analysis is also possible
by part of the “post-processing” being
carried out during the flight. The
processing results can be stored on a
separate section of the storage medium. In
addition, the analyzed values can also be
“Avionics systems are experiencing a
replacement of lower speed digital
interfaces and are moving to high
speed interconnected avionic systems”
of canisters. The recorder architecture
supports canister hot-plug functionality,
which first reliably identifies the canister
and then supplies it with electrical energy
in a second step. The standardized canister
interface to the mainframe allows other
canister types to be implemented, ensuring
a flexible and fast reaction to future FTI
requirements.
DATA HANDLING
Data download for the post-processing
analysis must of course be carried out as
quickly as possible. For this reason, the
download station supports various
network interfaces such as 40 and 100
Gigabit Ethernet in order to make the large
FTI data available in a relatively short time.
The download unit is a rack-mountable
housing that is designed as an open system
so that it is also possible to install the
analysis software directly on the download
station itself.
On Board Data Processing is supported
on the MDR-GT. The recording of all these
data volumes also places new demands on
post-processing. Even as the speed of media
downloading increases and the
performance of the processing computer
increases, the time to download and
process remains significant. In general, due
to the enormous integrated computing
power in recorders, data analysis can
already be started during the test flight.
Based on the real-time processing of raw
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // SHOWCASE 101
instrumentation system to meet the
acquisition challenges we are now facing
with the influx of high speed multi-lane
Ethernet and new high speed data
produced by Advanced Line Replaceable
Unit (LRU) systems. These LRU’s with high
speed interfaces include a wide range of
avionics systems and sensors. Our first
self-generated requirement was to preserve
the customer’s existing investment and
provide an economical path to support the
new acquisition requirements. The results
of extensive design considerations will
enable Zodiac Data Systems’ new recorder
to interface with the company’s legacy
Modular Recorder Interface (MDR) systems
and specific third-party instrumentation
systems complying with IRIG 106, Chapter
10/11 Digital Recording Standard. This
architecture produces a distributed system
that functions and appears as a monolithic,
one-box instrumentation system.
Recently Zodiac Data Systems
introduced an extension of its Modular
Data Recording System (MDR) which is a
modular instrumentation and recording
system called MDR-GT. The mainframe
includes integrated interfaces such as 2
ports of 10GBASE-T/1000BASET/
100BASE-T and 4 ports of 1000BASET/
100BASE-T. PTP and IRIG A, B, G,
DC-AM time synchronization are
integrated as well as 2 voice inputs. Two
channels of IRIG106 Chapter 7 Packet
Telemetry PCM output interfaces are
standard in the MDR-GT.
The GT is a single box conduction/
convection cooled mainframe providing
the above interfaces contained in the
mainframe in addition to multipurpose
canisters (MPC).
Both MPC canisters are connected to the
mainframe via a standardized interface
with a variety of detection,
synchronization, and data transmission
signals (the red arrows in figure 3).
Multipurpose Canisters are flexible and
available in optional configurations. One
type is designed to accommodate the MDR
family of interface modules, user
interchangeable. Another variant is a fixed
38999-based canister for severe
environments such as salt spray and rain.
The new generation’s flexible recorder
design allows easy replacement of all types
2
2 // Top canister removal
recorder
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