Engineering Internship Assignment

Engineering Internship Assignment

Company: GKN Aerospace (Fokker Elmo Engineering)

The Fokker Elmo Engineering department is comprised of different disciplines in the Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS) core business. This internship is related to the EWIS Components & Environmental testing (ECE) discipline of the Fokker Elmo Engineering department.

EWIS Components & Environmental testing (ECE): this discipline is mainly responsible for the (standard) parts, materials and constructions definition, selection and qualification (testing). This is the most critical for EWIS configurations in the most demanding environments, such as engines and landing gears.

The term EWIS covers all wiring harnesses (bundles) in a typical aircraft, which perform the function of power- and data transportation in between electrical equipment (from the generation of electrical power up to the individual electrical equipment of the different aircraft systems).

Challenge for the applicant

Fokker Elmo has recently developed new capability in partial discharge testing wiring harnesses in environmental conditions of low-pressure in combination with high-temperature. The heating system of the test setup is manually controlled by an operator until the desired temperature is reached. The challenge for the applicant is to automate this procedure so that the desired temperature can be controlled and stabilized without human intervention.

Task description

Subject: Heating System Automation and Integration with LabView

Fokker Elmo is one of the pioneers in airborne High Voltage (HV) systems, actively engaged in the development of HV EWIS harness components. One of the primary challenges with HV is Partial Discharge (PD). The severity of PD is exacerbated at environment conditions of low-pressure and high-temperature. To aid in future investigative and qualification test campaigns, a robust testing system needs to be developed to effectively control the sample temperature during PD tests.

The candidate shall be engaging in all aspects of the project, from the initial requirement capturing, literature research, generating bill of materials, ordering, building, testing and troubleshooting and verifying the final design.

The system shall be a closed loop system that effectively controls the output temperature making use of (but not limited to) sensors, microcontrollers, basic hardware programming, digital and analog signals and voltage control. Additionally, the system shall be incorporated into the LabView software to provide a dashboard that allows operators to adjust settings and monitor heating progress.

Required applicant profile

• Type of internship: Final year assignment
• Required language: English / Dutch; verbal & written
• Start date: January/ September

Who we are

A leading player in the design, manufacturing and support for the Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems (EWIS) for Aerospace and Defense programs.