Real-time HIL test of Vehicle Management Systems for novel and traditional aircraft types
The Vehicle Management System (VMS) Test Platform provides a hardware in-the-loop (HIL) closed-loop test environment for dynamic test of VMSs for electric, fueled, commercial, military, rotary, fixed-wing, piloted and unpiloted types of aircraft. The system provides a real-time environment to simulate all aspects of a vehicle under the control of a VMS, including navigation, stores, environment, weapons, flight surfaces, fuel, propulsion, and brakes. In combination with our battery cell simulator instruments, this capability may be extended to battery management and power systems control as well.
By leveraging commercial, off-the-shelf components in combination with a new mechanism for system design and construction, the VMS Test Platform delivers repeatable, cost-effective testing in a fraction of the time needed for delivery of typical in-house simulation test systems. The VMS Test Platform is based upon the Bloomy Simulation Reference System which reduces overall lifecycle costs and creates a common test platform for closed-loop test systems in System Integration Laboratories (SILs).
Bloomy's VMS Test Platform can be used in a range of test system applications including:
- Vehicle Management Systems verification and validation
- System Integration Labs (SILs)
- Development, production, or maintenance testing
- “Fly the Box” test of customer return material
- Development of control laws prior to airframe test
- Environmental Stress Screening (ESS)/Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT)
Bloomy's VMS Test Platform features include:
- Simulation environment for comprehensive VMS testing
- Pack and cell-level simulation for complete energy storage subsystem testing
- Analog I/O including thermistor, RTDs, strain gages
- Actuator loads including inductive solenoids, torque motors, and indicator loads
- Discrete switch signals including open/ground, open/Vcc, open/closed
- Available digital communications including ARINC-429, MIL-STD-1553B, FireWire, AFDX, serial
- Simulation-controlled variable DC power supplies; optional 1Ø/3Ø AC supplies
- ThroughPoint™ Interface Panels with integrated breakout box functionality
| Signal Conditioning and Communication I/O | |
|---|---|
| Interface Type | Channels |
| VDT/Resolver simulation (4W, 5W, 6W)*+ | 8 |
| Thermocouple simulation*+ | 8 |
| RTD simulation*+ | 8 |
| Thermistor simulation+ | 8 |
| Strain Gauge simulation+ | 8 |
| Loads (torque motors, solenoid, lamp, etc.)*+ | 16 (8x <5W, 8x >5W) |
| Discretes (one-wire and two-wire)+ | 32 |
| Differential analog outputs to UUT+ | 8 |
| Potentiometer/variable resistor simulation | 8 |
| RS-422 | 2 |
| ARINC-429 | 8 |
| AFDX/ARINC-664 | Optional |
| MIL-STD-1553B | Optional |
| IRIG B | 1 |
| Ethernet Test Bus | Optional |
| DC Power | 2 |
| AC Power | Optional |
| Battery Subsystem | |
|---|---|
| Up to 800V pack voltage simulation | |
| Individual cell sink/source of 500 mA | |
| Bulk power via DC supply |
| Fault Insertion | |
|---|---|
| *Open circuit fault included. | |
| Other fault conditions (short to ground, pin to pin short, etc.) optional for all signal types |
| Self-Test | |
|---|---|
| +Self-test standard, calibration optional | |
| Loopback self-test optional for all other signal types |
| Computing Resources | |
|---|---|
| Real-Time Simulation Host | PXIe-based, RTOS, up to 8-Core Xeon |
| Instrumentation and System Management | PXIe-based, Windows, up to 8-Core Xeon |
| Software Environments | |
|---|---|
| Real-time Framework | NI VeriStand |
| Test Executive | NI TestStand |
| Data Acquisition and Programming | NI LabVIEW, C/C++ |
| Data Management and Analysis | NI DIAdem |
| Software Models | 23 model types, including LabVIEW, Simulink, MatrixX, C/C++, MapleSim |
| System Dimensions and Power | |
|---|---|
| System Chassis | 1- or 2-bay 40U equipment racks |
| 1-bay: | approx. 78"H (with locking casters) x 23"W x 36"D |
| 2-bay: | approx. 78"H (with locking casters) x 46"W x 36"D |
| Weight | Configuration dependent |
| Power Requirements | Power requirements vary with selected Ac and DC power supply options |
| Emergency Power Off | Standard |
| Uninterruptible Power Source | Standard for all computing resources |
| Warranty | |
|---|---|
| 1-year warranty on all hardware components, optional extended warranties available | |
| 3-year software service plan on all NI software products |