CTMA Project # 140805
Problem: The health of electrical systems are vital to the reliable operation for both commercial and military aircraft. Rotorcraft (rotary-wing aircraft) form a unique subset of air vehicles in that their propulsion system is used not only for propulsion, but also serves as the primary source of lift and maneuvering of the vehicle.
The IMDS, also known as Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) and the T-700 Engine Electrical System are vital to the overall operation of the most recent variants of the H-60 aircraft and share common electrical signal paths. When faults are present, it requires significant maintenance time to identify and isolate whether the error is mechanical or electrical. Thus, problems can negatively affect mission readiness rates and increase maintenance costs. Wiring and components in the on-board sensor system (OBS) can develop faults, or may even be installed incorrectly, such as wire reversals, that prevent the optimal performance of the IMDS. Failure of electrical systems have also led to catastrophic events in both the commercial and military sector.
Benefit: Proving the ability to quickly test and diagnose the IMDS/T-700 on H-60 aircraft will facilitate and promote the development of additional applications on numerous and expensive to maintain systems used in rotary-wing aircraft throughout the DoD and commercial industry.
Solution/Approach: The initiative will work with all three services operating H-60 aircraft to develop and demonstrate the automated testing for subsequent deployment to other sites servicing the fleet, train the appropriate personnel, and quantify the benefits. Upon successful demonstration of the test capabilities, the government partners will proceed to add the test protocol to their technical manuals to facilitate authorization for use in the DoD H-60 community.
Impact on Warfighter:
- Increase readiness rates
- Reduce maintenance time
- Reduce costs
DOD Participation:
- U.S. Navy (FRC East)
- U.S. Army (Redstone Arsenal)
- U.S. Army (Corpus Christi)
- U.S. Army Maintenance (Pentagon)
Industry Participation:
- Eclypse International
- NCMS
Benefit Area(s):
- Cost savings
- Repair turn-around time
- Obsolescence management and continued maintenance capability
- Positive
- Maintenance management improvement
- Improved readiness
- Reliability improvement
Focus Area:
- Reliability improvement
