046 – “”Data-Driven & Goal-Driven Condition-Based Predictive Corrosion Maintenance”

Author: Dr. Bernard Laskowski
Company: Analatom, Inc.
Phone: (408) 980-9516
Email: bernard.laskowski@analatom.com

Annual corrosion related costs for Department of Defense (DoD) facilities, infrastructure, and equipment are $20 billion. Approximately 25% ($5 billion) occurs at depot-level maintenance for Air Force aircraft and missiles. Analatom has aerospace validated monitoring technologies and experience integrated into innovative, platform-wide solutions. This approach—applying localized and area corrosion sensing, environmental corrosion modeling, and assessment techniques—proposes to deliver cost-effective, integrated solutions and implementation strategies for DoD applications.

The TRL 8 system incorporates in situ corrosion rate micro-sensors, providing data for advanced modeling assessment and prediction of protective coating/CPC system condition. Assessing/predicting coating degradation and corrosion onset through sensor data management, analytics, and hybrid coating condition/corrosion modeling establishes the framework for real-time corrosion assessment of in-service platforms to substantially enhance Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM+) programs.

Benefits
• Heightened Military Capability by ensuring maintenance is performed based on condition, resulting in shortened procedures and reduced depot times.
• Accelerated Military Development when domain experts/engineers can identify areas frequently maintained to improve structural and material designs.
• Reduced Costs and Increased ROI by identifying failure modalities in critical components and reducing life cycle costs associated with unnecessary maintenance, particularly for inaccessible critical components.

Measurements from corrosion sensors and coupons demonstrate pit-depth computed from sensors agrees with coupons to a statistical confidence of 95%; indicating sensors can provide accurate measurements for prognostic application. Proposed application is corrosion monitoring of C-130 aircraft in high corrosion regions like Patrick AFB, Florida. Patrick AFB’s fabrication flight team uses sensor technology to measure corrosion changes in aircraft in real time, enabling more effective maintenance decision making.

Augmenting hardware with analytical/data mining software presently at TRL 6, it is proposed to implement practical CBM+ techniques focusing on: (a) required corrosion data determination/collection, (b) corrosion data analysis/modeling, and (c) decision making. Proposal will develop/validate large-scale data/goal driven CBM+ framework specific to aviation platforms via further development of: (1) embedded sensor data requirements, (2) coating/CPC degradation models, (3) wireless DAQ of corrosion and critical environmental data, and (4) hybrid models integration with data mining tools incorporated into Analatom’s Intelligent Maintenance Assessment System (IMAS). IMAS supports CBM+ by correlating platform integrated health management sensor data with maintenance actions, flight data, and faults. Proposed system will integrate into maintenance or health monitoring network systems that support CBM+.