Hello
I am new to posting anything on pprune, but I have actively read pprune forum threads for several years.
I am an engineer but not in aviation. At one stage in my career I was an EMC engineer (electromagnetic compatibility), and I spent some time actively trying to break military comms systems as well as studying their EMC behaviour.
I have no doubt that aviation EMC requirements are stringent before anything gets bolted in to an aircraft and that is right and proper.
I would however like to mention that if software and hardware upgrades are made to any system then the performance of a system may change and unintended electrical signals could be generated. EMC testing is intended to evaluate systems to make sure nothing unintended takes place that is detrimental to the correct operation of a system. If there is a problem then EMC control measures are employed which might be filters, shielding material etc. If it is a big problem then redesign might be required.
The above is a general statement but it is clear that a battery fire when an aircraft is in flight is a big problem. On the 787 the battery charging system will no doubt be studied to see if any changes have altered it's behaviour. The real issue is the extent of the 'system' boundary in EMC terms. This might be the whole aircraft or just a bit of it.
I'll be interested in the outcome of the 787 investigation.
Last edited by old dawg; 25th January 2013 at 16:21.