Dynamic Characteristic Analysis Procedure of Helicopter-mounted Electronic Equipment

Electronic equipment has been applied to virtually every area associated with commercial, industrial, and military applications. Specifically, electronics have been incorporated into avionics components installed in aircraft. This equipment is exposed to dynamic loads such as vibration, shock, and acceleration. Especially, avionics components installed in a helicopter are subjected to simultaneous sine and random base excitations. These are denoted as sine on random vibrations according to MIL-STD-810F, Method 514.5. In the past, isolators have been applied to avionics components to reduce vibration and shock. However, an isolator applied to an avionics component installed in a helicopter can amplify the vibration magnitude, and damage the chassis, circuit card assembly, and the isolator itself via resonance at low-frequency sinusoidal vibrations. The objective of this study is to investigate the dynamic characteristics of an avionics component installed in a helicopter and the structural dynamic modification of its tray plate without an isolator using both a finite element analysis and experiments. The structure is optimized by dynamic loads that are selected by comparing the vibration, shock, and acceleration loads using vibration and shock response spectra. A finite element model(FEM) was constructed using a simplified geometry and valid element types that reflect the dynamic characteristics. The FEM was verified by an experimental modal analysis. Design parameters were extracted and selected to modify the structural dynamics using topology optimization, and design of experiments(DOE). A prototype of a modified model was constructed and its feasibility was evaluated using an FEM and a performance test.