Aircraft Repair Research Articles

Assignment of dimensional accuracy parameters of parts during assembly of aircraft repair engines

The article considers the existing models and methods of analysis and synthesis of geometric tolerances of products with assembly dimensional chains. There proposed a method to define the rational tolerances for the linear dimensions of parts during assembly of aircraft repair engines. The developed methodology is based on the use of computer simulation technology for assembling the assemblies with actual geometry, and a model for calculating the labor input and cost of parts manufacturing based on the assigned tolerances. The main advantages of the technique are considered by the example of assigning rational tolerances to the parts of the repair rotor of a high-pressure compressor, which have the greatest influence on the functional characteristics of the aircraft engine. The results of the relationship between the dimensional accuracy parameters of parts and assembly parameters are presented, and the dependence of the cost of refinement or manufacturing of the part on the assigned tolerance is obtained.

The remote technical equipment monitoring system for light aircraft

The concept of monitoring the technical parameters of light aircraft equipment (less than 5700 kg) are considered, which is based on the principles of building automated telemetry systems. The proposed monitoring concept will allow to test the condition of aircraft both in the aircraft repair plant and during operation. Decision support will be provided for repair planning based on the current parameters of the controlled equipment of light aircraft. The features of the implementation and functioning of the system for monitoring the technical parameters of equipment are considered.

Economic Efficiency of Establishing Russian Aircraft Repair and Maintenance Service Centers using Subsidized Project Financing

This study analyses the development of the aviation industry in Russia, based on the "Strategy for the Development of the Aviation Industry of the Russian Federation until 2030". Also, it examines the procedures for developing an investment project to create aviation service centers for after-sales maintenance and repair of aircraft, as well as the mechanisms for justifying the discount rate and methods for assessing the effectiveness of the investment project (risk analysis). Furthermore, this article sets and solves the task of developing and evaluating the efficiency of the investment project of creating an aircraft after-sale technical maintenance and repair center for Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ 100). In order to solve these problems, the methods of financial and economic analysis, budgeting, economic and mathematical modelling were used. The result of the work is a financial model of the investment project for the creation of SSJ 100 aircraft after-sales service and repair center

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ МОДЕЛЕЙ ПОСЛЕПРОДАЖНОГО ОБСЛУЖИВАНИЯ АВИАЦИОННОЙ ТЕХНИКИ С ЦЕЛЬЮ АВТОМАТИЗАЦИИ ПРОЦЕССОВ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОГО ОБСЛУЖИВАНИЯ И РЕМОНТА АВИАЦИОННОЙ ТЕХНИКИ

The authors proposed the models of participants of after-sales support of civilian aircraft and their cooperation. Data streams between models have been proposed. The algorithm of automation of the processes of maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft has been proposed by means of models and data streams. Interface solutions of automation of the processes of maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft has been proposed by means of the algorithm and the models.

Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Aircraft Maintenance

The article deals with the issue of unmanned aerial vehicles, and their use in aircraft maintenance as a tool for visual inspection of the airframe. There are quite a few factors in the maintenance process that can affect its quality and safety. In the process of reducing the risk of human influence in aircraft maintenance, it is necessary to set up tools and processes so that human factor failure can be eliminated as much as possible. Example of such a concept can be a "Smart Hangar" system, which introduces digitization into processes in a certified commercial aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul organization (MRO) as well as in a Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO). The article discusses the problem of using UAVs in the maintenance process and identifies the risks associated with this activity. On a practical example, it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of introducing UAVs in the maintenance process in small MRO organizations.

Development of An Augmented Reality Equipped Composites Bonded Assembly and Repair for Aerospace Applications

The prosperity of aircraft transportation together with revolutionary promotion of composite components used in commercial aircraft pose enormous challenges to the aircraft composite assembly and repair (especially uncertainties associated with polymer process parameters control, barely visible defects and non-destructive inspection capability to inspect zero-thickness defects). Therefore, an industry solution owning merits on reliability and repeatability of assembly process is at high demand. Augmented Reality (AR), a human computer interaction technology, possesses its exclusive superiority on its capability of inflicting digital mock-up into physical environment. The above property of AR provides colossal opportunities to be utilised into industrial applications to contribute the realisation of automated, efficient, streamlined and reliable process and assembly. The current ongoing research aims at developing an AR System integrated into aircraft composite bonded assembly and repair as a guidance tool to instruct technicians’ repairing operation, mitigate human errors, and reduce duration of repair and assembly. Upon the accomplishment of the System, the researchers would aim to investigate the incorporation of machine learning and deep network algorithms to enable and significantly improve the interactions between the multitude of process parameters involved in the composites assembly control procedures, solely relying upon the AR geometric data. This will ultimately lead to dramatic reduction of sensors in aircraft assembly, mitigation of in-process analysis time, reduction of process and post-process inspection time, and a higher quality assembly. Stepped scarf composite repair embedded with soft composite patches was selected as the archetype to be brought into effect though hard patches were partially examined as well. The AR System has focused on composite patches assembly and vacuum bagging process to address the predicament of miscellaneous steps and fibre directions.

Development of a suitable project management approach for projects with parallel planning and execution

In a big company, project management (PM) is always present. Traditional predictive PM approach is concerned with planning everything in advance and then controlling and adjusting if necessary, throughout the project timeline. This may work well when the requirements are well established, but for maintenance projects brings inherent uncertainty. When the subject is aircraft maintenance, it is almost impossible to plan everything at the beginning and expect that it will occur as planned because however a scheduled maintenance plan exists, according to statistics 60% of the aircraft total failure can only be found with ground inspection which means, that even if a plan is established before receiving the aircraft, it will most certainly need to be significantly changed. This requires a big effort from the planning team to plan everything right and ensure that all tools and resources are available to perform the required tasks. To solve this issue, in this paper we propose a hybrid project management approach developed to a case study company from the aircraft repair sector, to enable a faster planning while taking into account the priorities and dependencies of the inherent project tasks with the available resources.

CIAC: adopting postconflict strategies

Learning outcomes Identify the influence of contextual variables (i.e. politics) in the strategy of a military organisation. Analyse and evaluate strategic change options of a military organisation. Decide on a strategic change from the resources and capabilities model. Case overview/synopsis Colombia Aeronautics Industry Corporation (CIAC) is a Colombian mixed economy company that commercialises, maintains and repairs civil and military aircraft and aeronautical components. The case presents the decision that the manager must make regarding a change in corporate strategy because of the entry into force of the peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This agreement assumes that the main line of business of the CIAC would be weakened (i.e. repair of military aircraft used in the internal armed conflict with FARC), because in a new peace scenario, the aircraft would not need as much maintenance as in the most critical stages of the conflict. Complexity academic level Master of Business Administration level (suggested courses: strategy, strategic management and organisational change). Undergraduate level (suggested courses: strategy and organisational change). Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Aircraft timely departure probability technique calculation

The article proposes the probability determination technique of timely aircraft departure, which is based on mathematical modeling method. It is proposed to use the indicator of timely departure probability, a calculation method of which is different from the known methods by taking into account the aircraft maintenance and repair system. This technique applies modern information technologies and the adopted approach is also supplemented with the mathematical model software implementation. The method of aircraft timely departure probability calculation is based on the model of the aircraft maintenance and repair system, utilizing the theory of mass service mathematical apparatus. The technique allows us to achieve the practical objectives of flight tests implementing aircraft maintainability evaluation and also complements the existing methodological support of the tests. The developed computer program provides the calculation of the required indicators for various values and combinations of factors which influence the result. Modeling was performed, and the study results of the main factors of probability effect, influencing timely departure are presented. Eventually the basic laws in solving the problem of aircraft timely departure, including interception of flying object are established.

Rethinking reverse logistics: role of additive manufacturing technology in metal remanufacturing

PurposeAlthough the adoption of metal additive manufacturing (AM) for production has continuously grown, in-house access to production grade metal AM systems for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a major challenge due to costs of acquiring metal AM systems, specifically powder bed fusion AM. On the other hand, AM technology in directed energy deposition (DED) has been evolving in both: processing capabilities and adaptable configuration for integration within existing traditional machines that are available in most SME manufacturing facilities, e.g. computer numerical control (CNC) machining centers. Integrating DED with conventional processes such as machining and grinding into Hybrid AM is well suited for remanufacturing of metal parts. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachClassical facility location models are employed to understand the effects of SMEs adopting DED systems to offer remanufacturing services. This study identifies strategically located counties in the USA to advance hybrid AM for reverse logistics using North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) data on geographical data, demand, fixed and transportation costs. A case study is also implemented to explore its implications on remanufacturing of high-value parts on the reverse logistics supply chain using an aerospace part and NAICS data on aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities.FindingsThe results identify the candidate counties, their allocations, allocated demand and total costs. Offering AM remanufacturing services to traditional manufacturers decreases costs for SMEs in the supply chain by minimizing expensive new part replacement. The hubs also benefit from hybrid AM to repair their own parts and tools.Originality/valueThis research provides a unique analysis on reverse logistics through hybrid AM focused on remanufacturing rather than manufacturing. Facility location using real data is used to obtain results and offers insights into integrating AM for often overlooked aspect of remanufacturing. The study shows that SMEs can participate in the evolving AM economy through remanufacturing services using significantly lower investment costs.

Reinforcing Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles to Enhance Viscoelastic Performance of Epoxy Nanocomposites.

Graphene, two-dimensional (2D) sheet of carbon structure, in its purest form has shown potential for application in the fields of electronics, semiconductor, sensing, energy, displays, biomedical engineering, etc. Graphene oxide (GO) is easier to synthesise than the pristine graphene, scores comparable in terms of mechanical strength, but lags in electrical and thermal conductivity. GO plays an important role in nano-composites for use in loading conditions requiring superior mechanical strength. GO is a suitable candidate as reinforcement due to its better solubility in the epoxy polymer, resulting in improved properties. The present work reports the reinforcement of graphene oxide in epoxy matrix to enhance visco-elastic properties of the E-GO nano-composite. GO was prepared by wet chemical oxidation method from graphite flakes that were used as precursor. The E-GO nano-composite samples were prepared by solution mixing method, without the use of any external stimulus to exclusively understand the effect of GO reinforcement. Dynamic mechanical characterisation of the fabricated E-GO nano-composites for the visco-elastic properties was carried out using nano-indentation technique. Storage modulus and loss modulus of the nano-composites were tested over the frequency range of 20-200 Hz. Tan-delta or loss function was calculated to characterise energy storage capacity of the nano-composite samples under the loading. Tandelta showed 12% improvement at 1 wt% of GO reinforcement in the nano-composite. Hardness of the nano-composites improved upto 10% with GO reinforcement. Epoxy-based aircraft repair applications require epoxy to deliver superior elastic properties and the present report verifies the improvement in elastic behaviour of epoxy with the addition of GO.

EXPERT RESEARCH OF AIR INCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS IN FORENSIC PRACTICE

The article is devoted to the problems of one of the types of forensic engineering expertise, namely the aircraft engineering expertise. In the light of the growing number of aircraft operating in the airspace of Ukraine, the increasing intensity of air traffic, as well as the specifics of the Ukrainian air fleet, the relevance of forensic aviation technical expertise is getting extremely high. At present, there is virtually no relevant expert specialization and all studies are conducted by forensic experts who have the relevant aviation technical education with the involvement of experts as forensic experts in the field of flight operation, repair and maintenance of aircraft, meteorologists, airfield support, ground support of flights, etc. Summarizing the expert practice of conducting forensic examinations on aviation incidents, the authors of the article point out the urgent need to create an appropriate expert specialty, which in turn involves making changes to the regulatory documents that govern the procedure for appointment and conducting forensic examinations. To provide an adequate level of justification, the necessity of creating an appropriate expert specialty, the authors briefly describe the subject and objects of the aviation technical expertise, as well as provide an indicative list of issues to be addressed by this expertise that are solved by this expert examination. Regarding the methodological support for the implementation of aviation technical expertise, the authors proposed, in their opinion, the most rational method of ensuring proper examination is the creation on the basis of the regulatory procedure for investigating aviation incidents by regulatory documents of ICAO, taking into account the national procedural legislation of Ukraine. The established methodology in its essence should be a universal document describing the main stages of the expert research – it should be step by step instructions. In future, in addition to the established methodology of aviation technical expertise, narrowly focused methodical recommendations can be added that detail the procedure of examination of certain types of aircraft or their systems and assemblies. Key words: jurisprudence, expert research, aviation incident.

Proactive management of the design and development processes of interactive electronic maintenance and repair documentation for aircraft

The article deals with the quality management of interactive electronic technical manuals on the operation and repair of aircraft. It has been established that the quality management tools for interactive electronic maintenance and repair documentation for aircraft do not fully satisfy the existing set of specific requirements for the technological process of their design and development, as well as the implementation of proactive quality management procedures in it. This suggests a lack of scientific, methodological and technological security of quality systems in the design and development of interactive electronic maintenance and repair documentation for aircraft. The quality management of interactive electronic technical manuals for the operation and repair of aviation equipment is a sequential process of iterative procedures for evaluating and improving the quality of the specified information and software tools for logistics support.

Come fly with ME: The Impact of 3PLs within the aircraft Manufacturing, Repair and Overhaul Industry in the United Arab Emirates

Come fly with ME: The Impact of 3PLs within the aircraft Manufacturing, Repair and Overhaul Industry in the United Arab Emirates

Testing an AHP model for aircraft spare parts

This research aims to develop and test a practical and precise multi-criteria classification of aircraft spare part inventory management, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), in order to maintain aircraft operational availability and to reduce unnecessary downtime. In this study, a multi-criteria model is developed within a large-scale aircraft maintenance and repair firm in Indonesia. Spare parts data were extracted from the inventory system and analysed to triangulate the model outcome, demonstrate its validity and compare the results against the mathematical results generated by the system’s algorithm. The findings suggest that AHP can lead to a transparent, rapid and systematic classification model, this is highly accurate and precise with an outcome comparable to traditional methods. The conclusion proposes that the AHP classification model is more effective and transparent than the currently available mathematical methods. This research contributes to the development of the multi-criteria inventory classification literature in the context of the aviation industry.

머신러닝을 이용한 항공기 수리부속 예측 모델의 실증적 연구

In order to predict the future needs of the aircraft repair parts, each military group develops and applies various techniques to their characteristics. However, the aircraft and the equipped weapon systems are becoming increasingly advanced, and there is a problem in improving the hit rate by applying the existing demand prediction technique due to the change of the aircraft condition according to the long term operation of the aircraft. In this study, we propose a new prediction model based on the conventional time-series analysis technique to improve the prediction accuracy of aircraft repair parts by using machine learning model. And we show the most effective predictive method by demonstrating the change of hit rate based on actual data.

Valuing data in aircraft maintenance through big data analytics: A probabilistic approach for capacity planning using Bayesian networks

Capacity planning is an important problem faced by aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) organizations given the uncertainty of maintenance workloads. Despite the considerable amount of data generated and stored during the planning process, these have yet to provide a decisive competitive advantage to aircraft MROs. This paper addresses this problem by exploring Bayesian networks (BNs) as a big data and predictive analytics (BDPA) tool to cope with the uncertainty on both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance workloads and to improve the MROs capacity planning decision-making process based on incomplete information. The BNs were developed from a real industrial dataset referring to 372 aircraft maintenance projects of a Portuguese MRO and comprise information variables representing typical information collected during the planning process and hypothesis variables representing the workloads required to be estimated. The benefits of applying BNs as a BDPA tool in aircraft maintenance are demonstrated through examples referring to capacity planning, but also sales planning, using real maintenance data. The BDPA tool based on BNs is generic and can be applied to the maintenance capacity planning process of any MRO, allowing accurate estimations and more informed decisions to be made when compared to current practices, which are based on descriptive statistics of past maintenance workloads.

Composite repair patch evaluation using pulse-echo laser ultrasonic correlation mapping method

Composite patch bonding repair is widely applied to metal and composite aircraft repair owing to its light weight and high resistance to fatigue and corrosion. However, composite patch repairing is done by vacuum bag processing in general, and the process itself is susceptible to manufacturing defects. In addition, the composite repair patches require more frequent inspections owing to the difficulty of the damage prediction. In this paper, we propose pulse-echo laser ultrasonic correlation mapping for a rapid quality evaluation method of composite repair patching. This method uses a pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imaging system as a tool for in-situ and full-field inspection, and an ultrasonic correlation mapping (UCM) method was developed for fast and straightforward defect visualization. Two composite patch repair specimens were tested, and then UCM results were compared with other results using existing visualization methods. We also tested a composite laminate plate to verify the applicability of UCM to general composite parts. The UCM results showed similar or better performance than current visualization methods in all cases. Test results showed that the proposed system is suitable for both in-process quality evaluation and in-service field inspection.

A new method for repairing aircraft structures containing aluminum alloy 2024-T3 using a combination of composite patch and bolt clamping

Aircraft repair is gaining importance for extending the service life of aging aircraft and also for improving its structural integrity. In this paper, a new repair method of aircraft structures is presented, and the performance of this method in mixed mode fracture has been evaluated and compared with other two repair methods by conducting experimental and numerical investigations. To do so, four batches of specimens were prepared and each of them subjected to five level of mixed mode loading using a modified version of Arcan fixture. Further, finite element simulations were utilized to find stress intensity factors to explain the experimental test results. The experimental results indicate that the hybrid repair method is the most effective method in terms of increasing fracture load and it was observed a significant increase in the tensile strength of the repaired parts by all three methods compared to the simple cracked samples. Repaired samples with the hybrid method, composite patch and bolt clamping exhibited up to 49%, 44%, and 24% increase in tensile strength under pure tensile mode respectively. However, in pure shear mode, the fracture strength increased to 28%, 18%, and 9% by the hybrid method, bolt clamping and composite patch respectively.

Fleet-level selective maintenance problem under a phased mission scheme with short breaks: A heuristic sequential game approach

Abstract Selective maintenance is the most widely used strategy for identifying and performing the maintenance actions necessary for fleet mission success. A fleet of equipment is usually required to perform phased missions with short scheduled breaks. In this case, a selective maintenance model should be extended for frequency-based maintenance optimization. We research the problem considering the application of condition-based maintenance (CBM). The problem is formulated with the objective of reducing the repair frequency and cost. The constraint is the reliability of the phased mission, and the variables are the remaining useful lifetimes (RUL) of all the key subsystems. The equipment can be classified into three echelons based on the health status before each wave of a mission, and a heuristic game framework with state backtracking is proposed for the three echelons to solve the problem. The flowchart and heuristic rules of the game framework are given, and the game algorithms for the second and third echelons are presented. The second echelon algorithm aims to select the dispatched equipment for the current wave and minimize maintenance, and the third echelon algorithm aims to ensure that sufficient equipment is available for the next wave by performing necessary maintenance. Finally, we present two types of strategy adjustment methods with state backtracking to turn infeasible solutions into feasible solutions and to optimize feasible solutions. To verify the capacity of the proposed method, a case involving a fleet of 12 aircraft is analyzed for a three-mission scheme, and the aircraft repair times and costs are reduced by the method.