Electronic Flight Instrument System

Airbus A340

Introduction The Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) is an avionics system connected with most of the aircraft systems to carry out the two following main display functions, EFIS Display Function and ECAM Display Function: (1) EFIS display function The EFIS display function is shared in two, one for CAPTAIN and one for FIRST OFFICER. Each crew member has at his disposal two displays presenting the whole FLIGHT information (for safe flight and navigation), the PFD and the ND. (a) The two Primary Flight Displays present the following short term data: - Attitude angles: i- Pitch ii- Roll iii- Heading - Airspeed indications: computed Airspeed and various manoeuvring or limit speeds, - Altitude, vertical speed, - Trajectory deviations (ILS), - Automatic flight mode announcement, - TCAS alert. (b) The two Navigational Displays present the following long term data: - Radio navigation (VOR, DME, ILS, MLS, ADF), - Flight management paths - Weather radar mapping - TCAS report.

(2) ECAM display function The ECAM display function is unique for both crew members (For further details, Ref. to 31-50-00). The ECAM display function presents the whole aircraft information via two displays : the EWD and the SD. (a) The EWD presents the following data: - Engines primary indications, - Slats/flaps positions, - Warning/memo messages related to the main systems of the aircraft. (For further details, Ref. to 31-66-00). The Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) architecture is designed to cope with requirements in regard to:- REDUNDANCY (2 Primary Flight Displays, 2 Navigational Displays, 1 Engine Warning Display, 1 System Display, 3 DMCs), - SEGREGATION (4 types of symbologies (PFD, ND, EWD, SD), Primary Flight Display, Navigational Display, Engine Warning Display and System Display), - RECONFIGURATION capabilities for minimization of operational consequences and maximization of A/C availability in case of any Electronic Instrument System component failure.

This reconfiguration function is mainly aimed at changing the six displays of the main instrument panel whenever necessary. These displays are: - The Primary Flight Display (PFD) behaviour of the aircraft with respect to pitch and roll axes. - The Navigation Display (ND) : all information related to the behaviour of the aircraft with respect to yaw axis describing the aircraft horizontal situation. : all information related to the

- The Engine/Warning Display (EWD): ENGINE area : engine parameters fuel on board slat and flap position indication. WARNING area : All equipment failures together with their consequences on the flight. - The System/Status Display (SD) : a sketch of the main aircraft systems

with a symbology relating the behavior of most of the items of equipment concerned by the system.

More Explanation on the reconfigurat ion in page 9.

-Weight saving objectives have led to the design of the EFIS which enables to draw all these displays on six display units (DUs). -Three Display Management Computers (DMCs) drive the displays. -The EFIS reconfiguration function is achieved by means of a set of switching devices plus some software implements within the DMC and the DU to enable reconfiguration of these system parts which include a failed component. -Various reconfiguration (more on page 9.) possibilities are provided in the EFIS in order to cope with the operational requirements in case of failure of: - a bus input - a DMC - a DU - a control panel (EFIS control panel of the Flight Control Unit (FCU) or ECAM control panel).

Component Description (1) General The EFIS display functions are performed by the 3 DMCs and the 6 DUs. The DMCs receive data from different avionics systems in the aircraft, decode them and process them in such a way so that the externally connected DUs in the cockpit can use them to generate symbols and pictures on their screens. (1.1) DMC description

The 3 DMCs are identical and interchangeable. The DMCs are able to perform the EFIS function or the ECAM function. Each DMC is independent from the other and has its own: a) power supply module b) acquisition modules c) processing channel. (a) Power supply

The DMCs are supplied from various buses (115VAC from NORMAL and EMERGENCY A/C network) to ensure that at least two DMCs remain available in case of emergency configuration. The DMCs also receive 28VDC for WXR, and output discrete. (b) Acquisition modules The acquisition modules enable the DMCs to handle all the input signals from the other avionics systems, and to convert them in a suitable format before memorization. If one acquisition module fails, the operation of the other one is not affected. (c) Processing channel 1 - Validation/selection Before processing, the validity of data is checked: if it is not satisfactory, another source is selected. 2 - Emission - Data processing: the data memorized in the acquisition module are processed by the CPU then stored for transmission via the A629 link, together with some orders to generate the right image onto the DUs. - Parameters are sent to the DMC peripherals on an ARINC 429 output bus. This output bus goes through an aircraft wiring switching stage which enables continuous supply after system reconfiguration.

(d) Other functions 1 - Switching A WXR switching function selects the WXR tranceiver in contol on the CAPT/ FO side and coming from the DMC1, 2 or 3.

DU Monitoring Each DU monitors two of the remaining five DUs by comparing the critical parameters value at the DMC relevant input and the value of the same parameters returning on the ARINC 629 feedback bus. -When a discrepancy is detected, a message related to the faulty DU is displayed on the monitoring DU and a warning is sent to the FWC. 3 - Test function The BITE test is performed in the DMC and the results are stored for later transfer to the Central Maintenance System (CMS).

(1.2) DU description The 6 DUs are identical and interchangeable. Each DU receives digital signals from its related DMC through an A629 Link, and also through a particular bus (A453) for the weather radar link. These digital signals convey instructions and data corresponding to the displays to be presented on the DUs.

DMC Technical Data (1) Housing - Size - Colour : 6 MCU : brown.

- Number of boards

: on the face, 5 boards on the back, 1 mother boards and protection boards.

- Number of connectors : 1 ARINC 600, size 3. - Total weight (a) Input capacity - discrete - ARINC 429 - ARINC 629 - ARINC 453 (b) Output capacity - Discrete - ARINC 429 - ARINC 629 - ARINC 453 - RS232 - ETHERNET (c) Cooling Standard ARINC 600 cooling. : 13 (type: open/ground or 28VDC/open) : 8 channels (low speed or high speed) : 2 channels : 1 channel : 2 channels for flight test only : 2 channels for data loading : 108 (type: open/ground or 28VDC/open) : 99 channels (low speed or high speed) : 8 channels (high speed) : 4 channels : 5.5 kg.

(2) DU Technical Data (a) Size of the screen The available size of the screen is a flat square of 6.25 X 6.25 inches, slightly larger than the former CRT technology.

(b) Weight (c) Input capacity - Discrete - ARINC 429 - ARINC 629 wrap around - ARINC 453 - Discrete - Analog DC

: 7.6 kg

: 18 (type: open/ground or 28VDC/open) : 2 channels (low speed or high speed) : 3 channels used, 2 full provision channels and : 1 channel : 1 (type: 28VDC/open) : 3 plus 2 reference voltages and one cell provision

A set of switching devices and some automatic processes are provided to the crew. They are: - Two EFIS DMC selector switches, one on the Captain side, the other on the First Officer side. - Two PFD/ND pushbutton switches, one on the Captain side, the other on the First Officer side. - One ECAM SWITCHING/DMC selector switch - One ECAM SWITCHING/ECAM/ND selector switch for ECAM/CAPT ND or ECAM/F/O ND transfer. - automatic DU switching available after a PFD DU fault or an EWD DU fault.

Reconfiguration. A. Power Supply Reconfiguration The power supply system also enables some reconfigurations when some supply sources are missing. B. Source Reconfiguration Some sources are reconfigured manually (flight management - air data inertial reference ), some others are reconfigured automatically (flight guidance - radio altimeter). Some input sources are fully redundant (engine sources), whereas some others loss their data when they fail (central maintenance computer). These reconfigurations are described in A340 Maintenance Manual page 31-62-00 (EFIS data acquisition). C. Reconfiguration in Case of an EFIS Component Failure In order to achieve satisfactory redundancy of the system the following principles have been adopted:

D. EFIS Reconfiguration Devices The reconfiguration function includes: - a set of pushbutton switches, selector switches and potentiometers to enable the crew manual action - a set of external relays (separate from the DMC and the DU) - some software processes implemented in the general application software program teleloaded from the F.L.A.S.H. These devices allow to cope with: - a single DMC failure - a dual DMC failure - a single DU failure - a dual DU failure Furthermore a combination of some of these failures has been taken into account.

(1)

A reconfiguration takes place only when:

- The DMC which drives a display unit is faulty - A DU is faulty (or switched off). In all cases manual switching has priority over automatic switching. (2) DMC source reconfiguration -When one EFIS normal source is faulty, the crew select the DMC3 source first. -Then, when the DMC3 fails in turn, the crew select the remaining opposite DMC. This operation is the COPY mode. -Whatever the actual configuration, the DMC which drives the CAPT PFD and ND is the one selected by the Captain: - When the EFIS DMC selector switch is in the NORM position, the CAPT PFD and ND are driven by the DMC1 - When the EFIS DMC selector switch is in the position 3, the CAPT PFD and ND are driven by the DMC3 - when the EFIS DMC selector switch is in the position 2, the CAPT PFD and ND are driven by the DMC2. The same applies to the First Officer EFIS displays: the active DMC which drives the F/O PFD and ND is the one manually selected by the First Officer (NORM is DMC2, 3 is DMC3, 1 is DMC1). (3) COPY mode The COPY mode is the configuration in which the four EFIS displays are driven by a single EFIS part of one valid DMC: -this copy mode takes place only when one single DMC is valid. When two DMCs are available, the CAPT side and the F/O side are driven independently to keep the most redundant situation. (4) EFIS REVERSE mode

In some cases it is necessary to exchange the PFD and the ND. This is the EFIS reverse mode. Furthermore, a PFD/ND transfer occurs to satisfy priority of the PFD over the ND. The PFD and ND are then exchanged. The reverse mode takes place when the PFD DU is no more valid but the ND DU is still valid. The reverse mode can also occur on crew request. When a reverse mode occurs automatically, the previous normal mode is not automatically recovered if the PFD DU condition turns back to normal. But, if the reverse mode is manually (or automatically) requested, a new request reverts PFD/ND configuration to normal. (6) ECAM REVERSE mode In some cases it is necessary to exchange the EWD and the SD. This is the ECAM reverse mode. The ECAM reverse mode occurs automatically when the EWD DU is no more valid but the SD DU is still valid. If the EWD DU becomes valid again, the normal mode is not automatically recovered. It can be manually requested if the pilot switches off the EWD DU and on again, or if he switches the DU to another ECAM DMC. (7) ECAM/ND transfer This transfer enables to show one of the ECAM displays on one ND DU, on crew request. (8) ECAM single display mode The single display mode occurs when only one DU is available to show both ECAM displays. In the single display mode the EWD is preferably displayed but a system page is available when the crew push the related key on the ECAM control panel.

The single display mode takes place automatically when only one DU is available for ECAM function. Then the EWD is displayed in priority on the single DU and the SD is available on request.