Connector impedance and frequency modes in aerospace wiring systems

Abstract

This article represents an investigation of connector effects on signal integrity and propagation in aerospace wiring systems–including quantitative data of potential changes in characteristic impedance. It is determined that changes in wire bundling, connector plugmap configurations, shell damage, and other factors impact signal propagation. Wire bundling arrange‐ ment can cause changes greater than ± 60 Ω on a 152 Ω linefurther causing reflection and transmission variation throughout the system. Changing connector configurations were found to cause initial signal reflections from 4 to 76% and total reflection of 0.05‐0.14%, where unshielded wires were found to have greater variation and reflection than shielded wires. The effects of frequency and connector length were also analyzed in order to minimize total internal reflection at connector interfaces. Shell damage can cause reflection up to 0.01, or 1%. Measurements of aerospace connector systems produced reflections <1.5%. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 59:89–93, 2017