AGING ARMY AIRCRAFT

The impact of aging on aircraft is a serious concern for the U.S. Army. The Army Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM) Depot Engineering and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Support Office (DERSO) addresses aging through its RCM program. The airframe condition evaluation/aircraft analytical corrosion evaluation (ACE/AACE) process is an RCM concept designed to select Army aircraft for depot maintenance. At the depot, the initial RCM task is pre-shop analysis (PSA), focusing on determining the remaining life in hardware components and identifying weak spots for immediate maintenance actions. The RCM logic and fault tree analysis processes are used to identify aging failure mechanisms, particularly those due to corrosion, and to guide the development of improved indicators of corrosion for incorporation into ACE/AACE and PSA. DERSO is also investigating the feasibility of using ion implantation and plasma chemical vapor deposition corrosion prevention techniques as an integral part of the depot maintenance operations. The aging-oriented RCM program is supported by an RCM data bank; a special risk analysis technique to identify safety critical failure modes and deterioration mechanisms for use with the RCM analysis; and the storage, analysis, failure evaluation and reclamation (SAFR) parts program.