Development of a Synchronous Sensor Suite for Use in Test Setups

Abstract

At the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), a test bench is being designed and constructed. The software and electrical hardware solutions needed present an interesting challenge, particularly in the area of sensor synchronization. Designs for the software and electrical hardware systems are discussed, and then the executed construction of these designs is examined. An additional problem is the issue of verifying that the test setup properly adheres to requirements. A literature gap in space test setup verification is identified, regarding the selection of a rigorous verification approach and the development of verification test plans. In order to address this gap, a method of determining what verification approach should be used, and a systematized format for developing verification test plans is created. In order to determine the efficacy of these methods, the desired test setup is used as a model example. A verification approach for the requirements is made, and then test plans for the selected requirements are written using the developed methodology. These test plans are subsequently executed, and the efficacy of the test plans and their creation methodology are evaluated. From the evaluation criteria for these test plans, it can be seen that the standardized test plan methodology does a good job of ensuring that that requirements and metrologic traceability is maintained, and that there is room for improvement in the isolation of influencing factors.