Airbus, EU flag battery issue with parked aircraft
Add
reduced battery capacity to the list of technical issues that airline
maintenance staff should watch for in planes stored for long periods because the
coronavirus has limited flying.
More
than 30% of the global passenger jet fleet, or about 8,100 aircraft, remains in
storage, according to airline analytics and consulting firm Cirium.
Last
month, Airbus and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued an advisory
that battery systems on A320, A330, A340 and A380 aircraft may not fully
recharge after inactivity and lead to a power loss during
operation.
During
maintenance checks for parked aircraft the batteries are physically disconnected
and reconnected. Nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries disconnected from the
electrical system self-discharge due to an electrochemical phenomenon, inducing
a reduction of battery capacity. When the battery is charged again from the
aircraft, the battery does not recover 100% of its initial capacity and battery
capacity progressively decreases after each reconnection, according to an EASA
safety information bulletin.
“This
reduction of capacity cannot be reversed by the normal aircraft charging system,
and the reduction in total capacity cannot be detected without the battery being
sent to an approved battery shop for a battery recharge check or
overhaul.
“As
aircraft batteries are the final power source available to aircraft, this
reduction in capacity of the Ni-Cd batteries may not meet the minimum battery
endurance certification requirements when the aircraft is operated again, which
may lead to a premature total electrical power loss in the case the aircraft’s
main electrical system fails,” the bulletin said.
Airbus
and EASA recommended airlines review their electrical system designs and their
storage instructions to determine if the battery system can tolerate successive
reconnection cycles without suffering from the same problem, noting that battery
drainage is not an issue in all aircraft
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar
Merk: Bare medlemmer av denne bloggen kan legge inn en kommentar.