NCMS is assisting the US Navy in seeking a partner with the capabilities and expertise to redesign, develop, and implement solutions to enable a lightly trained operator to maintain equipment in the field without the support of highly trained technicians.
Background
Repair and maintenance of equipment is usually relegated to mechanics highly trained in the specific system. In Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) access to highly trained technicians will be limited at best. This requires that operators take on more of the maintenance and repair function. Advanced prognostics anticipating faults before missions are interrupted will avoid many in-field repairs. Unavoidable in-mission repairs can be better supported with enhanced diagnostics and digital twin (DT) tools to isolate faults to the line-replaceable unit (LRU) so that the operator/maintainer is able to quickly and easily replace failed components in the field. For the purposes of this effort, it should be presumed that the fault is identified to the LRU.
Our interest is to explore opportunities for design changes and/or digital tools that enable the operator to conduct remove and replace actions in the field.
Solution Sought
NCMS is assisting the US Navy in seeking a partner with the capabilities and expertise to redesign, develop, and improve maintenance processes using advanced prognostics via digital twins (DT) that identify problems to line replaceable units (LRU). This is especially applicable to ground combat platforms but is useful in all equipment. Prognostics being developed will be able to reliably and accurately predict failures to the LRU. We need new technologies and equipment design modifications that allow the operator to maintain equipment via remove and replace actions to LRU in the field without help from a highly trained technician or extensive tool kits. This solution must reduce the repair turnaround time and increase operational readiness. A good example is the T800 engine which entered service ca 2000. That engine “demonstrated maximum removal and replacement times of 34 minutes for modules and 12.8 minutes for all line replaceable units using six common hand tools.” [Ref: Dickens, F. W., and Tommy Thomason, “Achieving Helicopter Modernization with Advanced Technology Turbine Engines,” presented at RTO SCI Symposium on “Aircraft Update Programmes—The Economical Alternative?” held in Ankara, Turkey, 26-28 April 1999.] Both improved digital support tools and platform and equipment design changes should be investigated to find the best-integrated solution.
The US Navy desires a three-phase approach to develop and implement a solution:
- Phase I: Identify in-field maintainer limitations and develop support tools for improved in-field repairs.
- Phase II: Implement, evaluate, and validate the performance of new in-field support tools.
- Phase III: Modify an experimental ground combat platform with the development and implementation of LRUs and removable components. Determine a quantitative improvement in the ability of in-field operator maintainers and increased operational readiness.
Required Capabilities
- Advanced Diagnostics / Prognostics
- Process Development and Implementation
- Engineering / Redesign / Digital Twin
- Design for maintainability
Responses
Interested parties should complete the following form and provide a white paper response with no more than three (3) pages, not including a cover page, using the format below. Responses are due on April 14, 2023. All questions or concerns can be addressed to opportunities@ncms.org.
White Paper Response:
- Provide background experience with desired technology capabilities
- Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) relationships and interactions for considered design modifications to determine feasibility
- Provide URLs to corporate presentations including engineering, modeling, simulation, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing capabilities.
Disclaimer and other Legal Information
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