Assembly, integration and verification

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Assembly, Integration and Verification or AIV is a quality management method in aerospace technology . It describes a standardized procedure for the qualification of components and the subsequent integration of the system components into the overall system . AIV is primarily used in the space industry and has been standardized by ESA and NASA with slightly different approaches. It is intended to ensure that a system , for example a satellite , survives the transport in the respective orbit undamaged and also fulfills its function in the intended operating time.

Explanation of terms AIV

AIV stands for assembly, integration (for incorporating, integrating, networking) and verification (for guaranteeing, checking, checking).

Loosely translated, AIV means as much as building the system structure, integrating the system components and verifying the system functionality.

Definition of AIV

AIV is the systematic and method-based process of planning, preparation and qualification of models and verification resources for quality assurance of a sole proprietorship or small series in the aerospace industry.

The AIV cycle begins early in the product life cycle, starts in the ESA / NASA phase concept towards the end of phase A and usually accompanies the product throughout the rest of the project period. The AIV is of a purely administrative nature in the product life cycle and is primarily concerned with the planning and procurement or the provision of required materials, resources and facilities.

AIV is used when the failure of a critical component of a system results in total loss of investment and / or catastrophic effects on people or the environment. Therefore, the components of the system are checked by at least one standard qualification program - under the direction of the AIV - before they are released for the operational phase.

Tasks of the AIV in industry

The basic task of the department entrusted with the AIV and the person responsible is to prove that the company / system fulfills or will fulfill the underlying specifications or the specifications and requirements agreed up to that point at the respective milestones .

For this purpose, there is a standardized procedure established by ESA and NASA in which the tasks, methods and procedures have been specified.

Main tasks of the AIV

Creation of the verification documentation

In accordance with the standard, various documents are created to document the entire process for the milestones and the customer. This ensures that all necessary planning steps are carried out and makes them both comprehensible and verifiable for third parties. This enables external expert commissions in reviews to evaluate and understand the results of the respective milestones using the procedure and the underlying test specifications.

Specified documents

  • Verification plan (VP)
  • Assembly, integration and test (AIT) plan
  • Verification control document (VCD)
  • Test specification (TSPE)
  • Test procedure (TPRO)
  • Test report (TRPT)
  • Analysis report (ARPT)
  • Review of design report (RRPT)
  • Inspection report (IRPT)
  • Verification report (VRPT)

The content of these documents is standardized and can be read, for example, in ECSS-E-ST-10-02C Annex A-F and ECSS-E-ST-10 - ECSS-E-ST-10-03.

Model philosophy

By defining the model philosophy, through the resource entrusted with the AIV, it is clearly determined which models and at what point in time must be required and made available for the application or test purpose. These can be both virtual and physical in nature. The model philosophy is clearly derived from the requirements specification. When which models (virtual or breadboard) are to be available is specified in the verification plan.

Since modern computer programs usually reflect reality with sufficient accuracy, physical models are increasingly being dispensed with in favor of virtual or hybrid models for reasons of cost.

Standard models

Analysis and design reviews

The AIV resource must provide analyzes early on in the project to demonstrate the "feasibility" of a project. In addition to the first simulations of the work process , which can be used to provide proof of functionality , the numerical methods play an increasingly important role in the planning and evaluation of system components. With increasingly powerful analysis tools and the use of databases, which enable current and previous projects or components ( legacy systems ) to be compared quickly and easily , costs can be reduced and the risk of errors minimized. Furthermore, these methods and tools can be used to better record and understand the system complexity and to obtain data from the analyzes and simulations. This is an inexpensive alternative to real experiments.

Well-known methods include

Resource planning

For verification , of course, the appropriate resources must also be planned, ordered and available at the appropriate times.

Corresponding facilities and specialists must be provided for the planned models. This planning must be closely coordinated with the actual progress of the project and therefore requires close cooperation between the project manager and the AIV resource. In addition to the actual test resources, alternative subsystems must also be defined in close cooperation with the respective body if a component does not meet the underlying requirements - which can change in the course of the project - or fails in the qualification programs.

Tasks in this area

  • plan staffing requirements and skilled workers
  • book or provide test facilities
  • providing computers and software
  • Budget planning
  • dynamic coordination with the project schedule
  • Define alternative suppliers and components

literature

  • Outdated ECSS standard: ECSS-E-ST-10-02C, as of March 6, 2009 of the European Cooperation for Space Standardization , online (PDF; 514 kB) at glast.pi.infn.it (English)
  • Outdated ECSS standard: ECSS-E-10 Part 1B (November 18, 2004) online at cesames.net (English)
  • Outdated ECSS standard: ECSS-E-10-03A (February 15, 2002), online (PDF) at eop-cfi.esa.int (English)
  • Willi Hallmann, Wilfried Ley: Handbuch Raumfahrttechnik , Hanser, 1999, ISBN 3-446-21035-0
  • Ulrich Walter : Systems Engineering , Script, TU Munich
  • Horst Baier, Frank Schiller, Rudolf Schilling: Modeling and simulation , script, TU Munich
  • Richard Maier, Andreas Ehrhardt: SA AIT / AIV in the VECTOR project , TU Munich