Industrial Age NDE to Information Age SHM

摘要

The United States Air Force (USAF) is transforming its maintenance practicesfrom the Industrial Age to the Information Age by exploiting opportunities andbenefits offered by Information Age technology and techniques. The USAFcurrently manages its aircraft using a schedule-based maintenance philosophy. Thisschedule-based approach works well for ensuring aircraft integrity; however, it isvery costly, labor-intensive, and reduces aircraft availability. Structural HealthMonitoring (SHM) systems have the potential to analyze near-real-time andhistorical weapon systems data to provide a predictive maintenance capability.However, most research in SHM is focused on in-situ structural inspectiontechniques instead of structural monitoring. Structural inspections typically entailexamining key locations of the airframe for material degradation or flaws. Theseexaminations usually occur at predefined intervals between extended periods oftime with each inspection considered an independent evaluation. Conversely,structural monitoring involves continuous condition surveillance of an airframeover an extended period of time. It uses past conditions and expected futureconditions for producing a comprehensive understanding of the current health state.In this paper, the full potential impact SHM could have on airframe management isexamined. As demonstrated in a laboratory experiment, SHM has the potential toimprove effectiveness and efficiency metrics compared to the current USAFmaintenance procedures.