Search Results

TRIADE is a European Union project that focuses on the development of technological building blocks for Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) sensing devices in aeronautics. It is funded under the 7th framework program. In terms of objectives, the TRIADE project focuses on providing these technological building blocks and fully integrated prototypes in order to achieve power generation, power conservation, energy management and embedded powerful intelligence for data processing and storage for SHM sensing devices. The principal technological building blocks that the TRIADE project will provide are: - A low profile battery with high energy density which will be able to function in a harsh environment, - An energy harvester from vibration and electromagnetic RF, - Ultra low power sensors which will be designed in SOI technology, and - A neural network for data recording and damage assessment.

Up to now, the reliability achieved by COTS components was largely sufficient for avionics, in terms of failure rate as well as time to failure. With the implementation of new and more integrated technologies (90 nm node, 65 nm and below), the question has arisen of the impact of the new technologies on reliability. It has been stated that the lifetime of these new technologies might decrease. The drift is expected to be technology dependent: integration, technology node, materials, elementary structure choices and process pay a key role. Figures have been published, which gives smaller lifetime than the 30 years generally required for avionics. This would of course impact not only the reliability, but also the maintenance of COTS-based avionics. Hence a new policy should be defined for the whole COTS supply chain. Faced with these impending risks, different methodologies have been developed [1], [2].