Aircraft Wire Harness Transition Assembly for Interference-Free Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft thermocouples are subjected to severe environmental conditions and must be robustly designed to operate reliably while providing accurate temperature measurements without failure affecting other thermocouples, and they need to be mounted around the gas turbine tail cone or pipe without interference.
Innovation Solution
A wire harness with a transition assembly featuring a slotted flange and junction design that allows the high temperature section to be fed through a mounting plate, navigating around engine components, and secured with a nut and washer system to avoid interference and ensure reliable installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If thermocouples are mounted about the tail cone or pipe to obtain temperature measurements, then measurement accuracy is improved, but the risk of interference between thermocouples and difficulty of installation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire harness is divided into multiple independent circuits, each with its own connector and routing path. This segmentation allows individual thermocouple wires to be installed and connected separately, reducing installation complexity while maintaining measurement accuracy at multiple locations around the tail cone.
Solution Approach 2:
Connectors serve as intermediary components that facilitate the connection between thermocouple wires and measurement devices. The connectors enable easy attachment and detachment of wire harness sections, simplifying the installation process while ensuring reliable electrical connections for accurate temperature measurements.
2Reliability
If thermocouples are spaced about the periphery of the gas turbine tail cone to obtain meaningful measurements, then measurement reliability is improved, but the complexity of wire routing and harness design increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire harness design incorporates universal connector types and standardized routing patterns that can accommodate multiple thermocouple locations around the tail cone. This multi-functional approach allows the same harness design to support various measurement points, maintaining measurement reliability while reducing overall design complexity through standardization.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire harness utilizes three-dimensional routing paths around the tail cone, distributing wires through available spatial dimensions rather than confining them to a single plane. This dimensional approach allows thermocouples to be spaced optimally around the periphery for reliable measurements while managing wire complexity through efficient use of available space.
3Reliability
If a robust wire harness design is used to withstand severe environmental conditions, then reliability under stress is improved, but the weight and size of the harness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire harness employs composite construction with protective outer sheathing that combines multiple material properties to withstand severe environmental conditions including heat, vibration, and mechanical stress. This composite approach provides robust protection and reliability while maintaining reasonable weight through the use of high-strength, low-weight materials in the protective layers.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a transition assembly for a wire harness configured to be coupled to a plate in an aircraft. The transition assembly includes a slotted flange configured to abut a first side of the plate, a junction having a flange configured to abut a second side of the plate, the flange including inwardly extending cutouts on opposite sides thereof forming a reduced width portion of the flange, and a nut configured to couple to the junction.