2008-09-12 - Revolutionary new ABB semiconductor switches are the key component in airport radar control systems that monitor U.S. airspace and ensure the safety of millions of passengers at all 132 civilian airports throughout the country.
By
ABB Communications
The groundbreaking ABB technology, which offers considerable user benefits in terms of reliability and longevity, is the main component in the modernization program of civilian airport radar systems throughout the United States.
Radar control systems monitor the flow of aircraft into and out of airports and prevent collisions between airplanes in the often congested airspace around airport flight paths.
U.S. airports are among the busiest in the world, handling some 750 million passengers a year. Of the world’s five busiest airports, three are in the United States – Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles – and a further four in the top 15: Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Las Vegas and JFK New York. All are equipped with the new ABB semiconductor switches.
Recommended by MIT
The switches were recommended to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), following 18 months of failure-free tests. On the strength of the recommendation, FAA made the switches a compulsory component in the refurbishment of the country’s airport radar control systems, a contract the FAA awarded to Northrop Grumman.
Compared to the conventional technology – electron tubes – which have to be replaced every 12-18 months, the ABB semiconductor switches have an estimated maintenance-free service life of more than 12 years. They also demonstrate a very high level of reliability compared to other semiconductor technologies – high reliability being a critical factor in air traffic control.
The solid-state switches emit pulses of high intensity that detect airplanes by the signals reflected by the aircraft. They combine integrated gate commutated thyristors (IGCT) with a fast driver unit to provide rapid switching within microseconds and high current capability at the same time.
The demand for solid-state technology in pulsed power is rapidly increasing, and ABB is involved in several other projects for its application.
Click here to read more about the solution in the ABB Review 3/2008
Did you know?
- ABB aircraft anti-collision devices protect the two tallest structures in the world – the KVLY tower and the KXJB tower in Fargo, North Dakota. Both are around 2,060 feet (628 meters), and are considerably higher than the Sears Tower in Chicago (1,451 feet) and the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur (1,483 feet). The ABB solid state modules have extended the normal life span of the flashing lamps on the structures by up to 10 times and have a 10-year warranty – critical benefits as the cost and danger of replacing lamps at 2,060 feet is high.
- ABB i-bus, ABB’s intelligent installation systems for buildings, controls the lighting systems and reduces energy consumption in airport terminals and concourses all over the world including the new airports and extensions in Bangkok, Beijing, Bonn/Cologne and Shenzhen.
- ABB won Northrup Grumman’s Outstanding Supplier award in 2006 for its participation in the United States National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). NPOESS satellites will (as of 2013) orbit the poles and monitor the entire planet from an altitude of about 850 kilometers. ABB designed and manufactured the interferometers that provide highly accurate data on temperature, pressure, humidity and presence of chemicals in the troposphere (the lowest part of the earth’s atmosphere).
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