DO-160

DO-160
Name	DO-160
Othernames	RTCA DO-160
Type	Environmental Test Standard
Scope	Environmental testing for airborne equipment
Published	RTCA
Firstpublished	1975

DO-160

DO-160 is an aviation environmental testing standard published by RTCA, Inc. that specifies test procedures and category definitions for airborne electronic equipment. It is widely used by manufacturers and regulators such as the Federal Aviation Administration, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and airframers like Boeing and Airbus to demonstrate equipment compliance with environmental stresses. The document informs design validation across diverse platforms including those produced by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation, and Honeywell International.

Overview

DO-160 provides standardized environmental test methods and criteria adopted by stakeholders including NASA, United States Department of Defense, Civil Aviation Administration of China, and major suppliers like Rockwell Collins and Safran. The standard covers categories for temperature, vibration, humidity, and electromagnetic phenomena to support certification processes used by authorities such as the Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom) and industry consortia like the Air Transport Association of America. DO-160 complements other standards such as those from SAE International, IEC, and ISO, and interfaces with airframe specifications from Embraer and Bombardier Aerospace.

Environmental Categories and Test Sections

DO-160 organizes tests into sections addressing discrete environmental disciplines: temperature and altitude stress, humidity and precipitation, explosive atmosphere, shock and acceleration, vibration, and electromagnetic interference. Users reference sections for lightning, static discharge, and radio-frequency susceptibility in parallel with work by IEEE, ITU, and ETSI. Environmental categories are defined by operational contexts referenced by aircraft types from Cessna, Dassault Aviation, Sikorsky Aircraft, and Bell Textron. The sections align with certification scenarios undertaken by operators such as Delta Air Lines and American Airlines and with maintenance procedures used by Lufthansa Technik and Singapore Airlines.

Test Procedures and Requirements

Test methods prescribe setups, levels, and pass/fail criteria for each section, referencing instrumentation practices common to labs like Intertek, TÜV SÜD, and Underwriters Laboratories. Procedures include temperature cycling similar to protocols in MIL-STD-810, vibration profiles informed by modal analysis used by Rolls-Royce Holdings test programs, and electromagnetic compatibility ranges coordinated with Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand and regional regulators. Tests often require representative mounting, harnessing, and flight-envelope simulation comparable to test campaigns by Airbus Defence and Space and BAE Systems. Acceptance criteria are applied by certification authorities during type-certification campaigns and supplemental type-certification managed by organizations like EASA and FAA.

Certification and Regulatory Use

Regulators use DO-160 test evidence when issuing type certificates, supplemental type certificates, and field approvals for avionics from suppliers such as Thales Group, Garmin, and Avidyne Corporation. DO-160 compliance is often referenced in certification plans submitted to Transport Canada Civil Aviation and in continued airworthiness documentation maintained by Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Australia). Airlines and integrators reference DO-160 results when negotiating fleet modification approvals with manufacturers like Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and in procurement specifications of defense primes such as BAE Systems and General Dynamics.

Revisions and History

First published in 1975, DO-160 has undergone multiple revisions to incorporate advances in avionics, materials, and electromagnetic environments encountered by platforms from Lockheed Martin to Bombardier. Later revisions integrated lessons from incidents and research by NASA centers and field experience from operators like FedEx Express. Updates aligned with evolving practices in electromagnetic compatibility community led by IEEE EMC Society and harmonization efforts with RTCA advisory committees and international authorities including ICAO.

Implementation in Avionics Design

Avionics engineers at firms such as Honeywell International, Collins Aerospace, and Garmin incorporate DO-160 requirements into hardware selection, enclosure design, grounding and bonding strategies, and thermal management used by system integrators like Thales Group and Rockwell Collins. Design verification plans reference DO-160 sections alongside model-based analyses used in projects at Boeing and Airbus and are integrated into manufacturing test procedures overseen by quality organizations such as SAE International committees and in-house labs like those at GE Aviation. Certification-oriented design reviews coordinate with certification authorities including FAA and EASA to ensure conformity with environmental categories applicable to specific aircraft types from Embraer and Cessna.

Category:Aviation standards