Airbus Acquires Brüel & Kjær Ramp Noise Test System

Airbus has acquired a 250-channel Brüel & Kjær PULSE data acquisition system for multi-purpose noise and vibration testing.

Airbus’s first use of the system will be for ramp noise compliance testing of its jetliner family of aircraft. Ramp noise testing evaluates and reduces the noise exposure of maintenance personnel and passengers boarding/disembarking the aircraft. The primary noise sources arise from Auxiliary Power Units (APUs), air cycle machines (packs) and brake fans.

Airbus’s new system will support many other activities within the noise and vibration evaluation processes. It is based on Brüel & Kjær’s standard PULSE LAN-XI Data Acquisition Hardware and PULSE Reflex post-processing analysis platform – both commercial-off-the-shelf systems.

PULSE LAN-XI Data Acquisition Hardware is a modular system, which allows individual modules to be freely used as stand-alone front-ends or collected together into frame-based configurations. They can also be distributed throughout – or around – an aircraft and connected together with single LAN cables for synchronised results. More channels can be easily added as necessary – and systems can be divided into smaller ones of any size.

For large aerospace systems, the high number of channels supported, high data sampling frequencies, tight phase matching between channels and the ability to handle wide dynamic range inputs all make PULSE a world-leader. Its self-test and verification tools are dedicated to high channel-count systems and ensure reliable performance, even in the most complex configurations.

The system provides a dedicated, streamlined workflow to handle the system setup, data recording, monitoring, and post-processing analysis of acoustic signals.

Airbus is able to configure its new system for a wide range of applications, enabling the company to capitalise on Brüel & Kjær’s huge range of innovative noise and vibration measurement – and test solutions.