Technical Paper
Pros and Cons of Integrated Modular Avionic Architectures for Utility Controls
1994-10-01
942112
To meet the growing demand for more reliable and maintainable electronic controls for regional aircraft utility systems, a basic integrated utility subsystem control (IUSC) design has been created for new regional aircraft. The final design is based on integrated modular avionics (IMA), but the pros and cons of various configurations played an important part in the conceptual selection of the final architecture. The defined configuration is expected to be adaptable for aircraft in the new regional transport (NRT) category covering 50 to 130 passenger aircraft. During the preliminary design process, it was necessary to develop several computer tools to assist in the complex task of integrating 16 or more utility subsystems. Following the conceptual design phase, a detailed design was created to provide specifics for the cost/benefit analyses that had to be accomplished to verify the benefits of installing an IUSC on a new aircraft.
