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QMT Applications: May 2012
Train is tested like an aircraft


Bombardier is testing its upcoming high-speed train ZEFIRO 380 on an Iron Bird test platform. The long-standing strategic partner, Berner & Mattner, has taken over design and implementation of the test cases for this platform. The Iron Bird method originates from the aerospace industry. Functional tests are performed in automated test suites on a model consisting of electronic components and simulations.

The goal of the test method is to detect failures as early as possible and to minimize testing time on the track. The Iron Bird is a complex structure consisting of four software layers, 13 integrated systems, more than 30,000 signals and 200 simulations. Within one year, a six-member team of Berner & Mattner has developed 3,000 test scripts for this test platform, in particular.

"For us at Berner & Mattner, the testing of electrical and electronic systems is one of our core competencies. The challenge was the implementation on a third party system," says Volker Stackmann, Senior Systems Developer at Berner & Mattner. "Our specific objective was to develop appropriate test cases which verify the functionality of the train and also run automatically on the Iron Bird."

For this, we systematically identified test cases based on the train specification using the classification tree method. These test cases cover the most important train functions such as drive, brakes, high voltage, doors and air conditioning.
Stackmann is positive: "The Iron Bird test platform combined with our automated test suites will reduce the overall costs of testing for Bombardier. Trains can quicker be put into operation, since the majority of the tests take place in the laboratory and not on the vehicle."
www.bombardier.com
  
    
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