RTCA/DO-160 Section 16: Power Input
RTCA/DO-160 Section 16 test procedures are used to determine whether the EUT can operate during different AC and/or DC power variations that occur during normal and emergency aircraft operation. RTCA/DO-160 Section 16 tests verify whether the equipment will negatively affect the aircraft power system that would be harmful or degrade performance in other equipment. These tests cover both susceptibility (surge, dropout, frequency transients, etc.) and harmful interference (current harmonics, re-generated energy, power factor, etc.) of the EUT.
Tests:
DC Input tests
Steady-state over- and under-voltage conditions
Ripple voltage
Momentary power interruption
Momentary sags and surges
Exposed voltage decay time (270 V only)
Inrush current
AC Input tests
Steady-state over- and under-voltage conditions
Steady-state over- and under-frequency conditions
Steady-state phase unbalance (three-phase power)
Voltage and frequency modulation
Voltage and frequency transients
Momentary power interruption
Momentary sags and surges
DC offset and voltage distortion
Harmonic current emissions
Phase unbalance (3 phase inputs)
DC current content
Inrush current
Current modulation Power factor
Equipment Categories
According to RTCA/DO-160 Section 16, there are four Equipment Categories (A, B, D, or Z) that indicate the type of power used by the equipment and the type of AC and/or DC power source with which the equipment is compatible. For AC powered equipment, an additional designator, placed in parenthesis following the Category designator, is a two-character code indicating that the equipment has been tested for use with Constant Frequency (CF), Narrow Variable Frequency (NF), or Wide Variable Frequency (WF).
Up to four additional category designators are also used to indicate testing for:
AC current harmonics (H)
AC current modulation (L)
AC power factor (P)
DC current ripple (R)
AC or DC inrush