METHOD OF ORGANIZING AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

• US 20100023209A1
• Filed: 07/28/2009
• Published: 01/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Helicopters
• Original Assignee: Eurocopter
• Inventors: Ghelam, Samir, Maisonneuve, Pierre-Loic, Lyonnet, Patrick, Glade, Mathieu
• Granted Patent: US 8,478,477 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A method of managing maintenance of an aircraft. The method includes defining a recommended maintenance program for the aircraft. Maintenance deadlines for the recommended maintenance program are determined by using primary data from a testing of at least one of pieces of equipment and elements of the aircraft. Utilization data for the aircraft is used and stored. A calculation device is used to implement at least one algorithm to recalculate the maintenance deadlines as a function of the actual utilization data. The recommended maintenance program is updated.

Claims

1. A method of managing maintenance of an aircraft, the method comprising:

defining a recommended maintenance program for the aircraft;

determining maintenance deadlines for the recommended maintenance program by using primary data from a testing of at least one of pieces of equipment and elements of the aircraft,

using and storing actual utilization data for the aircraft;

using a calculation device to implement at least one algorithm to recalculate the maintenance deadlines as a function of the actual utilization data; and

updating the recommended maintenance program.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the testing includes at least one of a design testing and a flight testing.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the updating of the recommended maintenance program is performed in at least one of in real time and after each use of the aircraft.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining influential degradation parameters representative of modes of degradation of the aircraft;

subjecting the influential degradation parameters to surveillance.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the actual utilization data includes at least one of use data and health data stored by an on-board surveillance system of the aircraft.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the at least one of use data and health data is organized in at least one of five families comprising:

load data;

lubrication data;

environmental data;

flight stage data; and

experience feedback data.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein:

load data includes torques and moments applied to mechanical elements of the aircraft;

lubrication data includes lubrication of mechanical parts, measurements of a lubricating power of oil and a degree of pollution of oil;

environmental data includes weather, temperatures, pressures and altitudes;

flight stage data includes stages of flight, aerodynamic forces and vibration; and

experience feedback data includes a health of at least one aircraft.

8. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

determining threshold values for the influential degradation parameters; and

determining during a life cycle whether the influential degradation parameters exceed the threshold values.

9. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

processing the influential degradation parameters; and

determining a maintenance credit.

10. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

utilizing and analyzing the at least one of health data and use data so as to track at least one of degradation modes of elements of the pieces of equipment of the aircraft and to determine at least one of a level of a wear for the elements of the pieces of equipment, a percentage of wear for the elements of the pieces of equipment and information on the potential remaining lifetime of the elements of the pieces of equipment.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the elements of the pieces of equipment are mechanical parts.

12. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the degradation modes are tracked with at least one predefined calculation model.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the predefined calculation model is determined during a design of the aircraft.

14. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the degradation nodes are tracked with at least one of a damage calculation model and an accumulated damage calculation model of mechanical parts of the aircraft.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the damage calculation model further comprises imputing values stored in real time and derived from the at least one of health data and use data so as to recalculate at least one of a wear to and a damage of the mechanical parts of the aircraft.

16. A surveillance, calculation and decision unit for an aircraft to implement a method of managing maintenance of an aircraft, wherein the unit comprises:

at least one sensor configured to enable input parameters to calculate maintenance deadlines to be sensed;

a calculation device configured on at least one of the ground and on board the aircraft to host at least one algorithm incorporating at least one calculation model configured to dynamically calculate deadlines,

a storage device configured to record at least one of use data and health data; and

a formatting device configured to format the at least one of use data and health data and configured to act on at least one of the ground and on board the aircraft to issue a recommended maintenance program (RMP) that is at least one of dynamic and current.

17. The unit recited in claim 16, wherein

the calculation device is a microcontroller;

and

the storage device is disposed on at least one of a microcontroller, the at least one sensor and other sources of information.

18. The unit as recited in claim 16, wherein the unit is associated with a transmission device configured to transmit at least one of the use data, the health data and the updated recommended maintenance program (RMP) to at least one fixed base on the ground.

19. The unit as recited in claim 16, wherein the unit includes a recording device in a form of an on-board black box and a station enabling data to be processed on the ground.

20. A helicopter with the unit recited in claim 16.