Logistics Engineering Design Techniques for Fault-Tolerant Avionics Systems

摘要

The logistics analysis methods in this paper are appropriate for integrated, fault-tolerant systems, such as the Integrated Communication, Navigation, Identifications Avionics (ICNIA) program, early in the development cycle. In particular, fault tolerance is one feature that an ICNIA system must have if reliability and supportability cost benefits are to be realized. Historically, logistics engineering disciplines have been applied to new avionics designs in the later stages of development. However, the logistics engineering techniques in the early stages of design and should not impose unrealistically detailed data requirements for analysis. This research in the areas of reliability, supportability, and survivability proceeded by front-end analysis to determine the applicability of existing techniques. Both traditional and innovative maintenance concepts were investigated. In particular, the increased ability to sustain sorties with limited repair capability was evaluated for deferred repair policies. A detailed example is presented to demonstrate the reliability and supportability methodologies. The outputs of this research in each area consists of documented methods for evaluation of integrated, fault-tolerant designs and the associated logistics options, as well as specific evaluations and design feedback for the ICNIA designs. The Mission Reliability Model (MIREM) was developed to determine the reliability of avionics designs in the early stages of development while the Simulation of Operational Availability/Readiness (SOAR) model was extended to describe the supportability parameters of the designs.