In the domain of aeronautics, the future more electric aircraft will have to face a difficult issue related to the increasing number of wires and connectors, impacting on the weight and system reliability. A possible solution for solving at least part of this problem is to introduce power-line communication for specific applications. In this paper, the cabin lighting and communication system has been chosen as an initial scenario. Indeed, the tree-shaped architecture of the cabling is complicated enough to be representative of many other aircraft harness configurations. Channel characteristics are first determined from a propagation model based on the multiwire transmission-line theory. A software tool simulating PLC communication has been developed. By introducing the predicted channel transfer functions of different links into this software, the throughputs that can be reached, taking into account the electromagnetic constraints related to aeronautic standards, are discussed.

Theoretical Approach to the Feasibility of Power-Line Communication in Aircrafts

Power line communication is envisaged for the future more electric aircraft and the scenario studied in this work deals with the cabin lighting system, since its tree-shaped architecture is sufficiently complicated to be representative of many other aircraft harness configurations. The statistical characteristics of the propagation channels are deduced from the measurements made on a representative test bench, the experimental values of the insertion gain being also compared with those obtained from a theoretical model based on the multiconductor transmission line theory. Field-programmable gate array-based modems have been designed and the performance of links are described and compared with predicted values deduced from a software tool simulating the link.

https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1049/iet-com.2013.0828

Investigation on power line communication in aircrafts

Applying Power Line Communication (PLC) technology in avionics provides an excellent solution for providing low aircraft weight, high transmission speed, high stability and good shielding performance. Avionics system designers had promoted some pioneering projects such as the EC FP7 TAUPE project to apply PLC based interconnections. Although many PLC electronic parts could be available due to technology success in in-home Local Area Network applications, requirements for safety and complicated avionics environment has been asking for more mature and advanced PLC solutions. We propose Stochastic Network Calculus (SNC) as a theoretical tool to analyze the performance of airborne PLC networks. First, we modeled an airborne PLC system with OFDM modulation in the physical layer and mixed CSMA and TDMA modulation in the Medium Access Control layer. Secondly, considering the randomness of traffic arrival process in the airborne PLC networks, the stochastic envelop curve is used to describe this process. Finally, we get the queue delay and backlog performance of traffic with different priorities in the network by using the theory of minimum plus convolution algebra in Stochastic Network Calculus to provide statistical Quality of Service (QoS) for actual airborne PLC networks. The evaluation method of Stochastic Network Calculus takes into account both the reliability and randomness of the communication network, which provides some references for the future design of avionics communication systems.

Performance Analysis of the Avionics Power Line Communication by Stochastic Network Calculus

Power Line Communication (PLC) systems are good candidates for next-generation aircraft communication channels. On-board power buses must meet stringent safety requirements that mandate the use of Transient Voltage suppressors (TVS) for lightning protection. These devices strongly degrade the performance of the communication channel. In this paper we analyze the impact of the lightning protection circuit used in aircraft power buses both theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that TVS devices are responsible for distortion and attenuation in the PLC signal band (1 MHz – 100 MHz). We introduce a novel co-design strategy, matching PLC coupler to lightning protection conforming to air travel safety regulations. Our experimental results demonstrate that both constraints can be met using our proposed architecture.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01577909/document

Optimised PLC power transfer on avionic DC Power Lines: Coupling circuit and lightning protection

This paper gives an overview of the theoretical and experimental approach which has been carried out in order to study the feasibility of broadband power line communication in aircraft. The network which has been chosen corresponds to part of a cabin lighting system and whose tree shape architecture is complicated enough to be representative of many other aircraft cable harnesses. The transmitting frequency band extends from 1 to 30 MHz. The theoretical channel characteristics are obtained from a software based on the transmission line theory while performances of the link in terms of bit error rate and capacity are deduced from a numerical tool simulating an OFDM link. Measurements on a test bench have allowed to estimate the common mode to differential mode conversion factor and to validate the theoretical results.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel7/6916487/6928981/06929522.pdf

A synthesis of theoretical and experimental study on power line communication over an aircraft tree-shaped network

The broadband power line communication (BPLC) technology is proposed aboard an aircraft for the use of mobile communication and Internet access systems during the flight. The possibility of re-using the power distribution network to transmit digital signals in the frequency range between 1 MHz and 30 MHz is investigated. The analysis is performed considering the real installation configuration of the carrier channel on a power line of the C-27J transport aircraft of Alenia Aeronautica. The accurate simulation of the wire-to-wire communication channel, which includes apparatus and bulkhead connectors, allows computing the transfer function between the sending and receiving devices. The crosstalk coupling with a victim power line is also predicted. The multicarrier modulation technique is applied for the computation of the optimal bit loading of the power line carrier channel by modelling the power spectral density of the channel noise and considering the constraint represented by the maximum power available of the sending device. The preliminary results of the study prove the feasibility of the BPLC technology aboard the C-27J transport aircraft.

M. Ricci

Papers

Feasibility of broadband power line communication aboard an aircraft