Multi-platform Airplane Health Management

Abstract

The Integrated Airplane Health Management (IAHM) program is a Navy research activity led by The Boeing Company with support from the University of Hawaii, Referentia Systems Incorporated, and Impact Technologies, LLC. The program focuses on interoperable multi-platform aircraft health management data handling and analysis methods applicable to military aircraft and commercial air transportation. A primary goal of the program is to significantly increase aircraft system reliability, safety, maintainability, availability, and affordability, resulting in improved mission performance and operational capabilities. As such, improved aircraft data accessibility and interoperability is viewed as a key enabler. The program consists of three phases leading to a proof-of-concept demonstration to show technical feasibility and potential payoffs for both military aircraft and commercial airlines. Software data loading translators have been developed and are being used to populate a new MIMOSA-based multi-platform health management database that can interface with common algorithms to support condition-based maintenance practices. In particular, this paper provides an overview of the concept and the efforts of the IAHM team in accommodating a variety of representative aircraft health data from F/A-18, C-17, and 737 platforms.12 A graphical user interface has been developed to access the IAHM database for data visualization, new diagnostic and prognostic algorithm research and development, and also for processing new datasets with the health management algorithms being developed. The resulting IAHM database schema, data interface methods, and algorithms are applicable to new, derivative, and current aircraft.