Systems Avionics Applications

The adoption of composite materials for avionics applications is discussed here. The term avionics includes all electronic equipments installed onboard an aircraft. First, the typical architecture of onboard avionics is introduced, including the most common subsystems and interfaces. Subsequently, the avionics parts that are more frequently made with composite materials are presented, such as racks, electronics enclosures, and thermal planes (heat sinks). Finally, the most important issues involving the replacement of metallic parts with composite ones are discussed. In this framework, an in-depth description of heat transfer (HT) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) issues is reported since these are the ones that require distinctive solutions by designers with respect to metallic units.