Reliability Based Aircraft Maintenance Optimization and Applications

Reliability Based Aircraft Maintenance Optimization and Applications presents flexible and cost-effective maintenance schedules for aircraft structures, particular in composite airframes. By applying an intelligent rating system, and the back-propagation network (BPN) method and FTA technique, a new approach was created to assist users in determining inspection intervals for new aircraft structures, especially in composite structures.

This book also discusses the influence of Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) on scheduled maintenance. An integrated logic diagram establishes how to incorporate SHM into the current MSG-3 structural analysis that is based on four maintenance scenarios with gradual increasing maturity levels of SHM. The inspection intervals and the repair thresholds are adjusted according to different combinations of SHM tasks and scheduled maintenance.

This book provides a practical means for aircraft manufacturers and operators to consider the feasibility of SHM by examining labor work reduction, structural reliability variation, and maintenance cost savings.

• Presents the first resource available on airframe maintenance optimization
• Includes the most advanced methods and technologies of maintenance engineering analysis, including first application of composite structure maintenance engineering analysis integrated with SHM
• Provides the latest research results of composite structure maintenance and health monitoring systems

Dr. Ren currently is the principle professor and acting chief engineer at Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Centre of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COAMC). He has had about 30 years aeronautical engineering working experience, during which he serviced as senior academic for RMIT University (Australia) for more than 12 years, a leading researcher in aerospace industries such as Defense Science and Technology Organization for 18 years, He was in senior manager position of Reliability and Airworthiness Department of Aircraft Design and Research Institute of China, and Aircraft R&D Centre (LA, USA). He is leading the Science and Technology innovation in customer service of COMAC. His major research areas focused on Aircraft Reliability, Safety, and Maintenance etc. Also, he is the advising member of SAE, and contributed to a number of international standards, such as ARP4754 and ARP4761 etc. He was honorably awarded a number of guest professor titles in many universities, such RMIT, NWPU, NUAA, Shanghai Jiaotong University etc. He has completed the supervision of more than 15 PhD student theses, and was invited as keynote speaker in many international conferences, such MRO, CE, AIAA. He is the fellowship of Royal Aeronautical Society and Engineer institute of Australia

Dr. Xi Chen, a graduate PhD student from RMIT University, Australia, and postdoctoral fellowship in Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Centre of COAMC.

Professor, the chief designer of ARJ21 aircraft, and the fellow member of Science and Technology committee of COMAC