STRUCTURAL USAGE MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring service load on airborne vehicle components, the method comprising:
- extracting, from an airborne vehicle after completing a planned mission, the start and end time of each of a plurality of flight regimes, flight events, and maneuvers (regimes/events/maneuvers) and flight parameters of interest for each of the plurality of regimes/events/maneuvers;
generating, for each regime, a time domain spectrum of the stress spectrum for each regime/events/maneuvers actually encountered in the mission from the extracted flight parameters of interest;
determining flight conditions experienced during the planned mission from the time domain spectrum data for each flight parameter of interest;
determining a stress per G (per unit load) spectrum corresponding to the actually experienced flight conditions, wherein the stress per G spectrum identifies an amount of stress experienced by the airborne vehicle at identified fatigue critical locations per G of air load caused by the regimes/events/maneuvers experienced in the planned mission at the fatigue critical location of interest; and
determining a total air load stress spectrum for the airborne vehicle from the performance of the planned mission by multiplying the time domain spectrum data for each flight parameter of interest with corresponding stress per G spectrum data determined for the experienced flight conditions and summing up the air load stress spectrum obtained for all regimes/event/maneuvers encountered during the mission.
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Abstract
A method for monitoring service load on airborne vehicle components is provided. The method includes: extracting, from an airborne vehicle after completing a mission, the start and end time of each of a plurality of flight regimes and flight parameters of interest for each of the plurality of flight regimes; generating, for each regime, a time domain spectrum of the stress spectrum for each regime/events/maneuvers actually encountered in the mission from the extracted flight parameters; determining flight conditions experienced during the planned mission; determining a stress per G spectrum corresponding to the experienced flight conditions, wherein the stress per G spectrum identifies an amount of stress experienced by the airborne vehicle at fatigue critical locations per G of air load experienced at the fatigue critical locations; and determining an air load stress spectrum for the airborne vehicle by multiplying the time domain spectrum data with corresponding stress per G spectrum data.
2 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring service load on airborne vehicle components, the method comprising:
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extracting, from an airborne vehicle after completing a planned mission, the start and end time of each of a plurality of flight regimes, flight events, and maneuvers (regimes/events/maneuvers) and flight parameters of interest for each of the plurality of regimes/events/maneuvers; generating, for each regime, a time domain spectrum of the stress spectrum for each regime/events/maneuvers actually encountered in the mission from the extracted flight parameters of interest; determining flight conditions experienced during the planned mission from the time domain spectrum data for each flight parameter of interest; determining a stress per G (per unit load) spectrum corresponding to the actually experienced flight conditions, wherein the stress per G spectrum identifies an amount of stress experienced by the airborne vehicle at identified fatigue critical locations per G of air load caused by the regimes/events/maneuvers experienced in the planned mission at the fatigue critical location of interest; and determining a total air load stress spectrum for the airborne vehicle from the performance of the planned mission by multiplying the time domain spectrum data for each flight parameter of interest with corresponding stress per G spectrum data determined for the experienced flight conditions and summing up the air load stress spectrum obtained for all regimes/event/maneuvers encountered during the mission. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A structural usage monitoring system comprising one or more processors configured by programming instructions in non-transient computer readable media, the structural usage monitoring system configured to:
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identify, based on a mission profile for a planned mission for an airborne vehicle, flight parameters of interest for each of a plurality of different flight regimes within a planned mission; instruct the airborne vehicle to record, during performance by the airborne vehicle of the planned mission, the start and end time of each of the plurality of flight regimes, flight events, and maneuvers (regimes/events/maneuvers) and the flight parameters of interest for each of the plurality of regimes/events/maneuvers; extract, from the airborne vehicle after completing the planned mission, the start and end time of each of the plurality of regimes/events/maneuvers and the flight parameters of interest for each of the plurality of regimes/events/maneuvers; generate for each regime, from the recorded aircraft parameters, a time domain spectrum of the stress spectrum for each regime/events/maneuvers actually encountered in the mission from the extracted flight parameters of interest; determine flight conditions experienced during the planned mission from the time domain spectrum data; determine a stress per G (per unit load) spectrum corresponding to the experienced flight conditions, wherein the stress per G spectrum identifies an amount of stress experienced by the airborne vehicle at fatigue critical locations per G of air load caused by the regimes/events/maneuvers experienced in the planned mission at the fatigue critical location of interest; determine a total air load stress spectrum for the airborne vehicle from the performance of the planned mission by multiplying the time domain spectrum data for each flight parameter of interest with corresponding stress per G spectrum data determined for the experienced flight conditions and summing up the air load stress spectrum obtained for all regimes/event/maneuvers encountered during the mission; and compute a damage index for the airborne vehicle from the total air load stress spectrum using a cycle counting method for each identified fatigue critical location for the planned mission. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A remaining useful life module in a structural usage monitoring system, the structural usage monitoring system comprising one or more processors configured by programming instructions on non-transient computer readable media, the structural usage monitoring system configured to extract flight parameters of interest from an airborne vehicle for a plurality of flight regimes, flight events, and maneuvers (regimes/events/maneuvers) from a mission and determine a total air load stress spectrum for the airborne vehicle using the extracted flight parameters and a stress per G (per unit load) spectrum wherein the stress per G spectrum identifies an amount of stress experienced by the airborne vehicle at fatigue critical locations per G of air load caused by the regimes/events/maneuvers at the fatigue critical locations, the remaining useful life module configured to:
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estimate the remaining useful life of a component at a fatigue critical location based on the most likely flight profile to be experienced at the fatigue critical location on future flights; estimate the remaining useful life by deriving a likely mission profile for the remaining missions to be performed based on past missions performed; perform a what if analysis to assess the likely impact that changing the mission profile for future missions would have on damage accumulation; and generate a usage-based maintenance plan specific to a specific airborne vehicle based on the usage pattern of the specific airborne vehicle thereby facilitating Individual Aircraft Tracking (IAT) by calculating the inspection thresholds and repeat intervals for different fatigue critical locations and developing a strategy to escalate or deescalate inspection plans which is reflected in a CBM advisory report.
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Specification