Study on the Application of RTCA/DO-178C in IMA Architecture

Abstract

With the development of avionics technology, the avionics architectures of aircraft has evolved from distributed analog architectures, to distributed digital architectures, then to federal digital architectures, and finally to integrated modular avionics(IMA) since the 1950s. IMA architecture is widely used in the design of modern commercial aircraft, which can optimize the information processing, communication and other functions of the avionics system, thereby improving the performance of the avionics system and reducing its energy consumption. This essay studies the composition and function of software components under the IMA framework, the method for determining the development assurance level (DAL) of each airborne software item, and forms a strategy for classifying airborne software based on DO-178C per DAL. Then identifies the technical concerns of different types of software in DO-178C application, establishes the IMA airborne software development process model and objective compliance verification model. The study results provide technical support for the development process assurance of airborne software under the IMA architecture.