Nicomatic SmartCo connectors embed real-time fault-finding into aircraft

OMTDR technology provides analysis without impacting network traffic

June 2020, Bon-en-Chablais, France: The SmartCo smart connector system from Nicomatic, the leading manufacturer of high performance interconnect systems, brings in-built intelligence to aircraft electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS) and reduces aircraft downtime by solving the problem of fault-finding in aircraft electrical cable runs.

The EWIS is the backbone of complex systems in modern aircraft and is subject to the same harsh environmental and operational conditions as other aircraft systems.  Detecting and tracing faults in aircraft electrical cable runs is time-consuming, frustrating, costly, and the cause of disruption to flight schedules.   Nicomatic and the CEA LIST Institute collaborated to jointly develop Orthogonal Multi-tone Time Domain Reflectometry (OMTDR) technology that enables network analysis and sensor intelligence to be distributed in the EWIS without impacting network traffic. Distributed analysis enables complex networks to be analysed, solving the problem of fault ambiguity as diagnosis information from several sensors can be aggregated. Integrating OMTDR into an aircraft wiring harness by embedding it into SmartCo aerospace connectors adds an “always on” distributed wire diagnosis and sensor communication system in real time to the EWIS. 

In a further collaboration, Nicomatic and the ECA Group integrated OMTDR into a portable all-in-one electrical troubleshooting test tool, theElectrical Ground Support Equipment (E-GSE) TC50 e-tool. The TC-50 is a multi-function tool in a case that simplifies wire troubleshooting and testing.  Validated on most popular aeronautic cable types, it plugs into a wire network and measures voltage/current/resistance, checks phase order, tests diodes, tests insulation and thermal imaging.  The TC-50’s user interface is web-enabled for access on the included rugged smartphone or any mobile device.

Using the TC-50 with Nicomatic’s SmartCo reflectometry technology provides precise wire-fault localization, enabling quick diagnosis and thereby minimizing aircraft ground time. The Wire Fault Localization feature enables the detection and localization of faults such as open- and short-circuits and the measurement of impedance variations with an accuracy of 0.1% across a cable length of 1m to 100m.

Phil McDavitt, Managing Director, Nicomatic Ltd. comments: “SmartCo connectors bring in-built intelligence and capability to commercial aerospace connectors, and together with the TC50-eTool, deliver a unique off-the-shelf tool for all generic electrical tasks for maintenance, repair, overhaul, diagnosis and troubleshooting of electrical systems and equipment in aircraft.”