Aircraft Wiring Inspection System

"The technical feasibility of developing a viable non-intrusive portable aircraft wiring test system is examined. The application of the system is to provide examination and characterization of aircraft wiring harnesses, while also providing predictivedata analysis, health assessment, and identification of incipient failures. Of particular importance in this research is the heretofore untested application of ultrasonic signature analysis and Baysian aging and survailance predictive modeling techniquesto wiring harness test and characterization. This effort addresses the combined efficacy of these technologies as well as specifying a requirement for integration and automated control of a commercial system. In addition to technical performance,particular emphasis is placed on identifying a reliable, low cost, ruggedized, portable system solution using existing, proven commercial off the shelf (COTS) technologies and industry standards. Benefits of the technologies targeted for research includethe ability to test a large class of inaccessible wiring harnesses while they are in operational service at a reasonable cost, and to predict failures in the wiring before they occur. Target market segments and applications for a realized test systeminclude commercial aviation repair and maintenance; public power distribution networks; automotive cable and harness manufacturing; telephone distribution systems; rail transportation systems; Larg