Aircraft Equipment Maintenance Using Vibration Hour Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current maintenance methods for aircraft equipment are costly and inefficient, as they fail to account for rare anti-vibration system failures, leading to undue vibratory stresses and reduced equipment lifespan, with existing vibration monitoring systems being expensive and not fully addressing predictive maintenance needs.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that determine the operational hours of aircraft equipment under normal and degraded anti-vibration modes, using a conversion law to estimate equivalent damage hours, triggering maintenance actions when a predetermined threshold is reached, without requiring expensive dedicated means.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If expensive dedicated vibration monitoring systems are used, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses existing flight data recorder parameters as an intermediary to infer vibration levels instead of directly measuring them. The flight data recorder already captures acceleration, velocity, and position data that can be processed to determine equivalent vibration hours, avoiding the need for dedicated vibration sensors and reducing system complexity while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of vibration monitoring functionality by processing existing flight data recorder data. Instead of installing physical vibration sensors, the system replicates vibration monitoring capabilities through computational methods using available flight parameters, significantly reducing hardware requirements and cost
2Reliability
If complete lifetime vibration tests are conducted, then reliability is improved, but loss of time and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the vibration test approach by changing parameters from actual time-based testing to equivalent vibration hour calculations. Instead of subjecting equipment to 10,000 hours of actual vibration testing, the system uses conversion laws to calculate equivalent damage hours from flight data recorder parameters, reducing test time from thousands of hours to minimal data processing time while maintaining reliability verification
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes conversion laws and thresholds in advance during the definition phase. By pre-determining the relationship between flight data recorder parameters and equivalent vibration hours, along with maintenance thresholds, the system eliminates the need for lengthy real-time testing during operation, allowing rapid assessment of equipment condition based on pre-established criteria
3Reliability
If anti-vibration system breakdowns are not considered, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability of equipment decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic maintenance thresholds that adapt based on anti-vibration system status. When the anti-vibration system is degraded, the system automatically adjusts maintenance thresholds to account for increased vibration exposure, allowing the maintenance strategy to dynamically respond to changing operational conditions without requiring complex additional hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback from flight data recorder parameters to continuously assess equipment exposure to vibration. By monitoring flight data and comparing it against conversion laws and thresholds, the system provides feedback-driven maintenance recommendations that account for anti-vibration system performance, improving reliability through adaptive maintenance scheduling
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for maintaining equipment (2) of a vehicle (1) comprising an anti-vibration system (3). According to this method, a device (10) determines a first number (D1) of operating hours for said equipment (2) when said anti-vibration system (3) is operating in normal mode and a second number (D2) of operating hours when said anti-vibration system (3) is operating in degraded mode. This second number (D2) is then converted into a third number (D3) by applying a predetermined conversion law. The equipment (2) is then serviced when the sum of the first number (D1) and the third number (D3) reaches a predetermined threshold (D0).