The ASIP states a guideline for the design of new aircraft entering the service of the USAF to ensure that structural integrity is the main factor in the service life and implementation of the usage monitoring system. The USAF introduced the damage tolerance requirement as per MIL-A-8344 in the year 1976. The USAF started implementing the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) after the incident of the B-47 crash in the year 1958 due to fatigue failure.
In a similar event in 1969, two aircraft of the Royal Airforce (RAF) and one United States Air Force (USAF) F-111 fighter bomber faced catastrophic failure after just 100 h of flying. An investigation revealed fatigue failure in the wing section. Even though material fatigue has been widely studied over the years, with numerous test and experiment data collected, according to the National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, India, both metallic and non-metallic fatigue failures in aircraft structures and components still account for around 60% of total failures, as shown in Table 1.Īircraft operators around the world experience fatigue damage, an example being the total loss of MB326H of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) MB326 fighter lead-in jet trainer aircraft.
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Force can result from static or cyclic loads, which can cause mechanical failure.Īircraft structures and components are inevitably subjected to static and cyclic loading and are indiscriminately prone to defect or crack initiation, ultimately leading to material fracture. Structural and component failure can be categorized into fracture and no fracture, which can be due to various factors, such as thermal, mechanical, and chemical. In addition, maintenance will be more precise by incorporating structural inspection methods using the non-destructive testing (NDT) to anticipate any structural and component failure. They can be introduced incrementally in the new servicing concept, such as plan schedule servicing (PSS) to replace progressive preventive and restoration work (PPRW) at 1000 h for MiG 29 (RMAF, 2007a) and progressive maintenance to replace the maintenance interval for Su-30MKM (RMAF, 2007b), which the RMAF has done. NDT methods are beneficial in terms of the downtime maintenance period and cost effective. The need is to identify a permissible material fabrication and joining method and an economical in-service repair method soon. A structure’s integrity is affected by the material’s mechanical properties under different thermal and environmental conditions. By definition, structural integrity is the ability of a structure to perform as the design intended in terms of structural safety, resilience, and dependability. Airframe structures are the major system that require attention in terms of structural integrity. The research outcome will enhance the ASIP for other aircraft platforms in the RMAF fleet for its structure life assessment or service life extension program.Ī reliable and maintainable aircraft system is a mandatory requirement of any air force, with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) being no exception. With the current budget constraints and structural life extension requirements, the RMAF has embarked on the non-destructive testing method and engineering analysis. Using the concept of either safe life or damage tolerance as its fatigue design philosophy, the RMAF has adopted the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) to monitor the structural integrity of its fighter aircraft. This contributes to the development of the maintenance task card and ultimately assists in extending the service life of the fighter aircraft. It was further analyzed using simulation analysis for fatigue life. In addition, although there are six critical locations, the wing root was chosen since it has the highest possibility of fatigue failure. Various NDT methods were used to determine the current condition of the aircraft structure after operation of beyond 10 years, and their outcomes are summarized. The effect of fatigue loading, operating conditions, and environmental degradation has led to the structural integrity of the airframe being assessed for its airworthiness. The airframe structures of most fighter aircraft in the Royal Malaysian Airforce have been in service for 10 to 20 years.
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