covering fields such as: of military aircraft partnering for progress … · 2014. 11. 5. · rule...

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Prognostics & Health ManagementPerformance Based LogisticsCondition Based MaintenanceHealth & Usage Monitoring

sForce Life Management of military aircraft

Capabilities and InstallationsIn support of Force Life Management activities, NLR combines

a wealth of knowledge, experience and technical capabilities,

covering fields such as:

• CompositeStructuresTechnology(e.g.ResinTransfer

Moulding,AdvancedFibrePlacement,ThermalAnalysis)

• Prognostics&HealthManagement

• ICT(e.g.KnowledgeDiscovery,DataMining)

• Testhousecapabilitiesformaterialcharacterization

and component and full scale evaluation

of static and fatigue strength

• NDItestfacilities(e.g.reliabilityofNDI,evaluation

ofnewNDItechniques,In-serviceinspections)

• Fractography&failureanalysis

• Avionicsandinstrumentationdepartment

WHAT IS NLR?

• TheNationalAerospaceLaboratory(NLR)isthekeycenter

ofexpertiseforaerospacetechnologyintheNetherlands;

• NLRemploysaround700people,including300witha

Master’sdegreeandabout160withaBachelor’sdegree;

• NLR’sfacilitiesincludewindtunnels(fortestingaircraft

producedbyAirbus,LockheedMartinandothers),

simulators(fortestingthesafetyofnewflightprocedures,

amongotherthings),andlaboratoryaircraft;

• NLR’srevenueaddsupto€75million,with

contractsaccountingfor€55million(2008);

• 75%ofourcontractworkisdirectlyor

indirectlygovernment-funded

February 2009

Design,editing,production:

NLR Multimedia Group

Photography:

©CAVDKM

InformationNational Aerospace Laboratory NLR

Voorsterweg31,8316PRMarknesse,TheNetherlands

AerospaceVehiclesDivision

GasTurbines&StructuralIntegrity,

A.M.Vollebregt

Tel.:+31(0)527-248186

E-mail:[email protected]

Tofacilitatethequick-lookevaluationofoperationalloads,

theNLRhasdevelopedauniquedevicecalledSALSA

(Stand ALone Structural data Acquisitionsystem).

Itisaminiaturized,stand-aloneandautonomous

1-channeldataacquisitionsystemtomonitor

operational loads, such as strains, accelerations

andtemperatures.SALSAisfullyautonomous

anddoesnotinterferewithanyaircraftsystem.

Thenecessarycertificationeffortforon-board

useisthereforeverylimited,allowingquick

andaffordableloadsassessments.Duetothelong

operatingtime(50hrscontinuous;300hrsin‘stand-by’

mode)onlyaminimumlevelofoperatorinvolvementis

necessary.

fortheChinook,theApacheandtheNH90helicopter.Bycollecting

flightadministrationdata(i.e.missionduration,numberandtype

oflandings,missionequipment,missionprofileetc.)andlinking

thistomeasuredflightloadsandusagedata,itbecomespossibleto

calculatedamageperflightsegmentormissionevent.

FRRisthebasictoolforstructuralintegritytoolssuchasPROUD

andHISDES.

TRANSPORT AIRCRAFTHOLMESTheC-130“Hercules”fleetoftheRNLAFisusedinamuchdifferent

waythanoriginallyanticipatedatthetimeofacquisition.Out-

of-areaoperationssuchasthoseperformedundertheISAF

flaginAfghanistanseverelystresstheaircraftandadversely

affecttheservicelifeoftheairframe.TheNLRhasdevelopeda

loadsandusagemonitoringsystemdubbedHOLMES(Hercules

OperationalLifeMonitoring&EvaluationSystem)thatbrings

togethermeasuredflightdataandflightadministrativedatafrom

varioussources.Thecollectedinformationisusedtocompute

the expended fatigue life of the critical areas of the airframe.

TheRNLAFnowemploysthissystemasatooltotakeinformed

decisionswithregardtofleetlifemanagement.

PROGNOSTICSPROUDPROUDisaninnovativetoolforthemilitaryoperatortoestimate

theseverityofprojectedChinookusagescenario’sintermsof

airframefatigue.ItispowerfulinthatanypossiblefutureChinook

mission profile can be generated in detail, including specification

ofinternalorexternalloads.Theuserspecifiestheaircraftweight,

thedetailedmissiontypedescriptionsandassociatedmissionmix.

PROUDthencalculatestheseverityofthatassumedusagescenario,

relativetoaspecificreferenceusage,whichtypicallyisthestandard

Dutchpeace-timeusage.Inthiswaytheoperatorcanprojectthe

logisticsfootprintandestimatethetypeandlevelofairframe

degradationforfutureout-of-areadeployments.

PLATOUsingagraphicaltooltopresentafixedwingaircraftmission,in

detail, it becomes possible for the operator to calculate the fatigue

damageseverityofanyimaginarymissionprofile.Theinputfor

PLATO(missionprofilePLAnningTOol)isagraphicalrepresentation

ofamission.Perflightsegmentthemomentaryairspeed,altitude

andaircraftweightcanbespecified.PLATOthencalculatesthe

accrual of fatigue damage, which can either be based on Miner’s

rule(fatigueapproach)oroncrackgrowth(damagetolerance

approach)foravarietyofloadsources,includinggustloads,

manoeuvres,fullstoplandings,touch&go’s,mainGround-Air-

Groundcycle,etc.PLATOcanbeseenasthefixedwingequivalent

ofPROUDforthehelicoptercommunity.

FLIGHT REGIME RECOGNITIONThebasisofmanyofNLR’sstructuralintegrityconceptsisthe

abilitytoperformFlightRegimeRecognition(FRR)inatransparent

way.PhysicsbasedFRRalgorithmshavebeendevelopedbyNLR

Force life management is: Measurement Analysis Application

FIGHTER AIRCRAFTF-16StructuralloadmonitoringoftheRNLAF/F-16fleethasbeencarried

outbyNLRsincetheearlynineties.Morerecently,anewfleetwide

innovativefatiguemonitoringsystemwas(co-)developedbyNLRby

adaptinganexistingpilotdebriefingsystemwithloadsandusage

monitoringfunctionalities.Mainfeaturesofthisso-calledFACEsystem

(FatigueAnalyser&airCombatEvaluationsystem)isthecapabilityto

measure strains at five locations: two measuring wing bending, two

measuringtailloadsandonemeasuringfuselagebending.Additionally,

IntroductionTheNationalAerospaceLaboratoryNLRmaintainslongtermstrategicrelationshipswithweaponsystemmanagersofvariousair

forces around the world to generate best practice and competitive advantages in the fields of airframe and engine maintenance and

sustainment,operationalavailability,flightsafetyandstructuralintegrity.Withintheinternationalcontextofagingfleetsandshrinking

budgets, Force Life ManagementofmilitaryaircraftisanareainwhichtheNLRhastheambitiontoremainakeyplayer.

Thisbrochurepresentssomepastandpresentperformance.ItillustratesNLR’sfocusareasandhighlightssomecurrentinnovative

developments.

Work areasTheNLR’sForceLifeManagementactivitiescoveralltypesofmilitaryaircraft.Theyincludefixedwingaircraft,suchasfighters,trainers,

transportandmaritimepatrolaircraft,aswellasvarioustypesofhelicopters.

TheNLR’svisionandcapabilitiescangeneratequantifiablemaintenancecreditsfortheweaponsystemmanager.Demonstratedbenefits

withregardtomaintenancecostsandplatformavailabilityincludelongeron-wingperiodsoflifeditems,theachievementoflonger

inspection intervals, the introduction of better inspection methods, the avoidance of failure mechanisms that result from specific

operationalusagecharacteristicsandtheoptimizationofoperationalprocedurestoalleviatedamageaccumulation.

The four levels of Force Life ManagementForceLifeManagement(FLM)canbeconsideredasthecollectionoftechnicalactivities

thatareperformedthroughouttheprojectedlifetimeofaweaponsystemtomaintain

orimproveitsrequiredoperationalcapability.Theseactivitiesarecarriedoutinthe

areaoftensionbetweencost,availabilityandsafety.

Fourmainlevelsanddifferentstakeholderscanbedistinguished:

• LevelIVrepresentsthehighlevelFLMobjectivesofmaximum

operationalsystemavailability,minimummaintenancecosts

anduncompromisedflightsafety.Thestakeholderof

FLMLevelIVisthefleetownerand/ormaintainer.

• LevelIIIisassociatedwithobtainingkey

numericalmanagementdatalikeavailability

percentages, remaining useful life numbers,

fatiguelifeindices,variousflightseverityindices,etc.ThestakeholderofFLMLevelIIIisthemaintenanceengineer.

• LevelIIservestogeneratetheLevelIIIfigures.Underlyingconceptshavetobeimplemented,suchasPHM(Prognostics

&HealthManagement),CBM(ConditionBasedMaintenance),RCM(ReliabilityCenteredMaintenance),ILM(Intelligent

LoadMonitoring),IAT(IndividualAircraftTracking),etc.ThestakeholdersofFLMLevelIIaretheindustry,academiaand/

ortheresearchorganisationsthatsupportheweaponsystemmanagertoachievethehigherLevelsIIIandIV.

• LevelIisthelowestapplicationlevelofFLM,associatedwithinstrumentation,sensors,signalgenerationandstorage,on-

boardalgorithmsforreal-timesignalanalysis,etc.Again,thestakeholdersaretheindustry,academiaand/ortheresearch

organisationsthatareresponsibleforthedevelopmentandadequateimplementationofthehigherFLMLevels.

AvitalpartofmanyFLMimplementationsisthemeasurementof

flightparametersandoperationalloadsandusagedata.TheNLRhas

developedandconductedon-boardmeasurementcampaignsfor

numerousweaponsystems.Examplesare:

• F-16(FACE)

• WHLLynxSH-14D(AIDA)

• CH-47DChinook(Acra)

• AH-64DApache(MSPU)

• P-3COrion(SDRS)

• C-130H(Spectrapot,FDAMS)

Additionally,theNLRhasdevelopedasmallstand-alonedigitalsignal

collectordubbed‘SALSA’,fortheflexible,genericandautonomousin-

flightmeasurementofloadsdata.

acomprehensiveF-16loadsandusagemonitoringdatabasehasbeen

implemented at NLR in a secure environment, for storing, managing and

processing the raw measurement data.

F-35AsdomainknowledgeexpertwithintheDutchPHMconsortium,NLR

hasbeeninvolvedinpartofthedesignandimplementationoftheF-35

Lightning-IIoff-boardprognosticsandhealthmanagementsystem.In

particularNLRwasinvolvedinfleethealthmanagement,flightre-creation,

failureresolutionandknowledgediscoverysystems.

HELICOPTER LOAD & USAGE MONITORINGThehelicopterfleetsoftheRoyalNetherlandsAirForce(RNLAF)haveservedasthe

development field for innovative Force Life Management concepts. Flight Regime

Recognition(FRR)algorithmshavebeendevelopedfortheChinook,ApacheandNH90.

Forthefatigue-criticallocationsandcomponentstheassociateddamageindicesper

flightregimehavebeenderived.TheNLRcurrentlyconductsFRR-basedloadsandusage

monitoringprogrammesforthesehelicoptertypes.

PROUDThisflexible,operator-orientedfatiguedamageprognosticstoolhasbeendevelopedbythe

NLRtoestimatetheseverityoffutureusagescenario’s.Thistoolisparticularlyusefultoplan

andpredictthelogisticsfootprintandtherequiredsparesinventory,maintenancepersonnel

andwarehousingneedsinthecaseofout-of-areadeployments.

ODATTheNLRhasdevelopedaprototypeofaso-called‘OperationalDamageAssessmentTool’

thatcanbeusedtoassesstheseverityofin-servicefatiguecracksintheprimaryairframe

structureofahelicopter.ODATwillfacilitatethedecisionwhetherornottofly,andforhow

long and under what operational circumstances, with the damage that is present. In the case

ofout-of-areaoperations,therequiredmaintenanceactionscanthenbedeferred(ornot)to

a more suitable moment and location.

AIDAAIDAisamulti-channelretrofitdata-acquisitionsystemthattheNLRhasdevelopedfor

theLynxhelicoptertomeasureandprocessthemainrotorspeed,theenginerpm’sin

variousmodules,theradaraltitudeandthesponsonstrainandtorsion.Sinceitsfleetwide

introductionintheLynxfleetoftheRoyalNetherlandsNavy(RNLN),AIDAhasbeenthe

basis for the fatigue life extensions of the mainframe, the sponson and the engine modules.

AIDAhasgeneratedprovenmaintenancecreditsandhasservedasaveryusefulFLMtoolto

bridgetheoperationalgapbetweenthephasing-outoftheLynxandtheintroductionofthe

NH90intheRNLN.

INTEGRATED DATA MANAGEMENTHELIUM and RAVIOLIHELIUMisasecuredatabaseatNLR,

containingallrelevanthelicopterflight

andloads/usagedatageneratedbyRNLAF

helicopters,coveringChinook,Apache,

CougarandtheNH90.Alldatafromallsorts

ofdatasourcescanbehandled(FDR,HUMS,

flightadmindataetc.).HELIUMisanXML

database,withXPathandXQueryaccessto

thestoreddata.UsingXMLdocumentsas

inputforthedatastorageprovidesmany

advantages,suchaseasyconvertingtoand

fromXMLdocuments,welldefinedsyntax

usingXMLSchemas,excellentsupportin

e.g. Java, and a human readable format.

RAVIOLIcanbeseenastheGUIon

topofHELIUM.RAVIOLI(Reporting,

AnalysisVIsualisation Of aircraft Lifecycle

Information)canbedefinedasan‘IT-facility’

for the military operator with an innovative,

fully integrated toolbox for the analysis of

usage, loads and maintenance data in a web-

based application of acquisition, processing,

storage, visualisation and reporting of data.

NH90 HISDESThemaritimehelicopterNH90hasrecently

enteredserviceinTheNetherlands.The

positiveresultsofChinookandApache

Force Life Management experiences in

TheNetherlandsledtoajointapproach

todevelopacommonflexiblesecureand

integrated(multi-operator)Supportability

DataExchangesystemfortheNH90

community,calledHISDES(Helicopter

IntegratedSupportabilityDataExchange

System).HISDESwillsupporttheweapon

systemmanagerondifferentlevels:

(1)occurrenceandincidentsreporting,

(2)RAMdataestablishmentandanalysisand

(3)Load&usagemonitoringforstructural

integritypurposes.

Fortheprocessingandanalysisofthemeasureddata,numerous

calculation procedures and algorithms are in use within the NLR, such as

signalcountingtechniques,modalanalysis,staticstrengthcalculations,

crackgrowthmodeling,loadsverification,FEManalyses,calculationof

dynamicbehaviour,etc.

Measuredandcalculateddataarenogoalinitself.Theyareelementsthat

are to be incorporated in meaningful FLM concepts, aimed at supporting

theoperatorinthepursuitofoptimalweaponsystemmanagement.The

NLR has developed numerous innovative approaches, such as:

• ProprietaryFlightRegimeRecognitionprocedures

forChinook,ApacheandNH90

• PROUD,fortheprognosisoffutureChinookdamageaccumulation

• PLATO,tosupporttheoperatorwithagraphical

toolforsimpleIndividualAircraftTracking

Force Life ManagementNLR’s role in supporting

the operator with• operational availability

• f light safety• economy

• maintenance

developments.

• F-16(FACE)

• P-3COrion(SDRS)

NH90intheRNLN.

integritypurposes.

• maintenance

developments.

• F-16(FACE)

• P-3COrion(SDRS)

NH90intheRNLN.

integritypurposes.

• maintenance

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WHAT IS NLR?

February 2009

Photography:

©CAVDKM

A.M.Vollebregt

Tel.:+31(0)527-248186

necessary.

andHISDES.

w w w . n l r . n l

WHAT IS NLR?

February 2009

Photography:

©CAVDKM

A.M.Vollebregt

Tel.:+31(0)527-248186

necessary.

andHISDES.

covering fields such as: of military aircraft partnering for progress … · 2014. 11. 5. · rule...

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