Automated Damage Assessment for Improved Readiness of Fielded Aircraft

Fielded aircraft can sustain damage in many forms ranging from combat and handling damage to corrosion and overload conditions and the necessity of providing timely support to the field is widely known. The rapid assessment of this damage results in a significant improvement in aircraft readiness. While investigating acceptable combat damage limits on the AH-64 helicopter, an automated tool that addresses the analysis of airframe structure was developed and its value was immediately evident. The development of the automated airframe analysis tool has had a significant positive impact on the timely assessment of many possible aircraft damage scenarios that require immediate attention for continued operation. Although the tool was developed for rapid analysis of damaged aircraft, the automated analysis tool has also been used for rapid assessment of potential overload conditions and can be easily extended to structural modifications.