Wiring in new and older aircraft use bundled insulated conductors that are
subject to deterioration overtime that can result in on-board fires, loss of in-flight
control and eventual crashes of the aircraft. The present invention provides a
diagnostic method which permits the on-line and non-destructive diagnosis of the
insulation degradation in a portion of the wiring comprising: a) measuring the
current flow at locations of the aircraft wiring utilizing an optical current sensor
with a bandwidth of dc to 50 kHz; b) determining the current flow within a high
frequency bandwidth; and c) analyzing the results of the current flow differential
determination and initiate the following: i) detect and locate the point of cable
failure; ii) initiate an alarm annunciation; and iii) initiate an on-board sectionalized
fire suppression system.
