Brighter sparks

As they age, aircraft break down, much like any other piece of machinery. But fixing a large airliner is a major task. There are so many complex systems spread over such a large area that repairing an intermittent electrical fault is extremely difficult; especially if, for safety reasons, it is imperative to find the fault before, rather than after, it becomes dangerous.

Researchers at the US Sandia National Laboratory have now developed a system called Pulsed Arrested Spark Discharge, which uses a small and extremely brief electrical spark to help locate breaks in the insulation of wiring that lead to intermittent faults.

The PASD product, licensed to the Washington-based company Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems, is expected to be launched this autumn.

Intermittent electrical faults are usually caused by short-circuits between exposed wiring and any other conductor, which could be another wire or part of the airframe. These can be caused by insulation breaks too small to be seen by the eye and their effects can be annoying -blinking cabin lights, wheezy air conditioning -or catastrophic.