On-Component RUL Tracking for Aircraft Maintenance Records
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft component maintenance practices rely on manual record-keeping and simple usage metrics, leading to inaccuracies, labor-intensive data entry, and a lack of sophisticated damage modeling to determine remaining useful life (RUL).
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a vehicle component with a configuration/maintenance module (CMM) that includes non-volatile memory for storing maintenance records, usage history, environmental data, and RUL values, along with sensors and a microprocessor for data processing and communication with a central maintenance computer (CMC).
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual record-keeping is used for aircraft component maintenance, then flexibility and simplicity are maintained, but accuracy and productivity deteriorate due to labor-intensive data entry and manual errors
Solution Approach 1:
The component itself stores and manages its own maintenance records through an embedded memory device, eliminating the need for manual data entry by personnel. The system automatically tracks usage metrics and maintenance history, with records traveling with the component rather than being maintained separately.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical record-keeping processes are replaced with electronic storage and automated data collection systems. Sensors and microprocessors automatically capture usage data and update maintenance records, substituting human labor with electronic automation.
2Reliability
If simple usage metrics are used for tracking component life, then ease of operation is maintained, but reliability deteriorates due to lack of sophisticated damage modeling
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple damage models are pre-configured in the system, each representing different failure modes and usage conditions. These models are prepared in advance and can be selectively applied based on the component type and operating conditions, enabling sophisticated analysis without requiring complex real-time calculations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses multiple damage models that represent different parameter sets and failure mechanisms. By selecting and applying appropriate models based on specific component characteristics and usage patterns, the system achieves accurate remaining useful life predictions without requiring a single overly complex universal model.
3Loss of information
If centralized electronic records are used for component maintenance, then information accessibility is improved, but loss of information increases due to records being separated from components
Solution Approach 1:
The maintenance record system is segmented and distributed to individual components rather than being centralized. Each component has its own embedded memory device that stores its specific maintenance history, ensuring records remain associated with the correct component while enabling localized access without requiring a centralized database.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment is a system including a component for installation on a vehicle comprising a central maintenance computer (“CMC”); a configuration/maintenance module (“CMM”) associated with the component and including memory for storing component information, a sensor for detecting a condition and generating data indicative thereof; a microprocessor for processing the sensor data and updating the component information with the processing results; and a communications interface between the CMM and the CMC. The system further includes a remaining useful life (“RUL”) module associated with the component that periodically updates an RUL, the RUL module periodically updating an RUL value for the component and communicating the updated RUL value to the CMM for storage in the memory. The CMC communicates with the CMM to update the component information included in the memory based on information input to the CMC by a user or changes in a condition of the vehicle.