Feature of the Month: July 2011

Applications from Angelantoni Industries: Part two - Aeronautics

ACS - World leader in Environmental Testing of Aeronautics Components and Systems

Environmental chambers in which it is possible to control pressure in order to simulate the altitude above sea level are a fundamental instrument in the aeronautics industry, both civil and military.

Over the years, the tests necessary for the development and qualification of new equipment have become increasingly more complex and integrated. The need to have numerous parameters under control at the same time and it simulate extreme conditions has made the classic altitude test chamber a necessary instrument, but one that is not always sufficient for achieving the quality and reliability standards required.

Angelantoni Industrie has gained valuable experience down through the years, enabling it not only to offer altitude test chambers for testing in compliance with the most common international standards of the sector, but above all to meet the most selective demands from the market. In conventional chambers, altitude and temperature are simulated simultaneously, while the control of relative humidity is limited to the cases where the altitude is not included. Angelantoni is able to include all three paramets at the same time, making is possible to simulate on the tested aircraft the complex phenomena associated with rapid changes in all these parameters. Similarly, in conventional tests the vibration simulation takes place in absence of an altitude control; Angelantoni has developed chambers in which integration of the vibrating system is possible, thus permitting the simultaneous simulation of vibration and environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, altitude).

In addition to the simulation of the normal functioning conditions, it is sometimes necessary to simulate emergency or failure conditions; an example may be the instantaneous pressure change associated with a drop in aircraft pressurization. Angelantoni chambers are able to reproduce these phenomena, up to and including the so-called explosive decompression level, at which a pressure change of several hundred millibars occurs within fractions of a second. In some cases, in order to perform their functions correctly, the electronic equipment on aircraft must be air-conditioned (cooled) at a controlled temperature and flow rate. This complicates the simulation not only because of the addition of further parameters to be checked, but above all because the air used for the cooling of the equipment being tested hinders the possibility to maintain the pressure condiditons associated with the altitude that must be simulated. In this case also, Angelantoni chambers are able to provide optimal solutions for the testing needs.

Features and Benefits:

• Combined control of humidity and altitude
• Integrated solutions including vibrations at high altitude
• Simulation of altitude at fast rates of change
• Simulation of explosive decompression
• Fast rates of temperature change
• Multi-shaker interfaces
• High load-bearing capability
• Flexible design to allow the testing of large physical dimensions
• DUT air conditioning at controlled temperature