Hi,
ChristiaanJ
Automated and automatic testing was a passion during many years. I faced very interesting challenges designing for adequate testability at Module level (set of PCB's), Board level and Component level(LSI). Your comment on ATE made me ask you something:
Testability is a serious issue in a complex System as you know. A simple example may show why we need strategies to perform an effective test:
Suppose a VERY SMALL memory of just 64 bits. If you test it to all combinations of zeros and ones in the array at 10 Mhz the time required is prohibitive. The solution is to apply a checkerboard pattern, invert it, galloping ones, galloping zeros, all zeros, all ones, etc. And stil you may have a pattern sensitivity.
In a complex machine the Test Engineers use a multitude of Test Strategies at different phases (design phase, prototype testing, etc.)
My question is:
How you compare the ability to test thoroughly an A/C like a current FBW versus e.g. a Concord where Systems were less "Finite State Machines" equipped.
But highly complex and with "feedback loops" that creates formidable challenges when trying to locate for example, an intermittent failure.
I am always concerned with Complex Systems due the "testability issue", so this is the reason of my question to an Engineer from the Concorde era.
It comes to my mind something i heard on A330: To adjust the real Time Clock you have to lower the flaps a little bit.
