Aerospace Simplified Blog

A fuse is a common electrical component that serves as an overcurrent protection device for electrical circuits. Fuses are essential safety devices that have long served electrical engineering, and there are many types and designs that have come about over the years to accommodate various current and voltage ratings, response times, and breaking capacities. Due to their use in protecting sensitive electronic components from the dangers of overload conditions, having an understanding of a fuse’s functionality can be useful when procuring and replacing such items.

Despite being simple parts, belts have an integral role in the operation of an engine. In simplest terms, a belt powers a part or series of parts within the engine. A given engine can have several belts, commonly depending on the engine’s age and its design. In this blog, we will discuss the four most common engine belts: the timing belt, fan belt, alternator belt, and serpentine belt.

Air gauges are measuring devices that use air nozzles to sense a surface to be measured. Using this technique, air is passed to one or more sensing nozzles and the resulting flow is measured by the air gauge readout calibrated to display linear dimensions. Air gauging was introduced in the 1940s and has since gained widespread popularity as a precise method of measuring internal and external diameters. In very tight tolerances, air gauging is a proven inspection tool that provides faster, more accurate, and more convenient measurements.

Jet and piston-powered engines are two of the most common engine types in modern aircraft. While they are both ideal in certain situations, this blog will focus on the seven benefits jet engines have over their piston counterparts.

In the plastic injection molding process, ejection of the plastic product is the final step. In this context, ejection refers to the process of removing the final product from a mold. The quality of the ejection and the quality of the plastic product are directly linked, making ejection a critical facet of production. There are seven design principles every ejector system should adhere to. In this blog, we will cover each of them.

An aircraft starter is a device used to assist in the process of starting up an aircraft engine. Modern aircraft starters consist of a high torque electric motor, reduction gear, and some means of automatically engaging and disengaging from the engine. The most common type of starter, found on all types of light and medium aircraft, utilizes a wound electric motor and engagement system like a bendix drive. The reduction gear allows the start to turn much faster than the engine and create sufficient torque in order to crank the engine.

A standard cable assembly refers to any amount of wires or cables that is sheathed by a much more intensive exterior product. In general, cable assemblies are built from heavy-duty materials, including but not limited to shrink-wrapped thermoplastic, thermoplastic rubber, or vinyl. These types of assemblies serve a similar function to wire harnesses which are sometimes referred to as cable synonymously, including keeping wires and cables organized, but are designed for entirely different environments.

Airplane emissions refer to the primary pollutants that are emitted by aircraft engines in operations. These can include carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulphur oxides (SOX), unburnt hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and soot. The pollutants from these emissions can be very harmful and unfortunately there is a large degree that the earth has endured. According to the data reported by Member States to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , the aviation emissions of all flights increased from 88 to 171 million tonnes (+95%) between 1990 and 2016.

Acceleration refers to the change in velocity of an object relative to time. According to the relative theory, depending on the relative object taken to measure acceleration, there are two types of acceleration: proper acceleration and coordinate acceleration. Proper acceleration is the physical increase in speed of an object in respect to inertia or the observer who is at rest relative to the object being measured. Coordinate acceleration depends on the choice of coordinate system and choice of observers. The accelerometer is an electromechanical sensor device used to measure the proper acceleration of an object.

A wheel speed sensor, or vehicle speed sensor, is an example of a tachometer. It is known as a sender device and is used to read the speed of a vehicle's wheel rotation. Wheel speed sensors typically consist of a toothed ring and pickup, and are found in automobiles, aircraft, and other wheeled vehicles. This blog will further explain aircraft wheel speed sensors, their characteristics, and how they operate.