Qualtech Systems, Inc. (QSI)’s integrated tool set, consisting of TEAMS-Designer® and TEAMS-RDS® provides a comprehensive model-based systems engineering approach that can be deployed for fault management throughout the equipment life-cycle – from its design for fault management to condition-based maintenance of the equipment. The TEAMS® failure-cause effect dependency model is a digital twin representation of the equipment in its failure-space and allows for various types of analyses such as testability, serviceability, failure propagation and others that facilitate fault management design of the equipment. The same model is deployed through TEAMS-RDS® for condition monitoring, prognostics, real-time health assessment, failure impact analysis, guided troubleshooting and others that facilitate condition-based maintenance as well as ensure efficient and rapid maintenance actions. In this paper, we present an overview of QSI’s integrated toolset, with a focus on a systematic model-based approach towards an automated development of Failure Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) and other relevant analyses for the equipment, for an improved understanding of failure effects and their causality at the system-level. The eventual objective here is improved equipment design as well as designing improved failure detection, failure isolation and failure mitigation. The paper will also discuss examples of such real-world applications for smart manufacturing in major depot maintenance facilities in the US. A subsequent paper will focus on the development and integration of process-level and equipment-level FMECAs for Smart Manufacturing applications.
Novel nondestructive evaluation (NDE) systems based on a recently pioneered Compton Imaging Tomography (CIT) technique [1-4 are currently being developed by Physical Optics Corporation (POC). CIT provides high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D), Compton scattered X-ray imaging of the internal structure of evaluated objects, using a set of acquired twodimensional Compton scattered X-ray images of consecutive cross sections of these objects. Unlike conventional computerized tomography, CIT requires only one-sided access to objects, has no limitation on the dimensions and geometry of such objects, and can be applied to large, multilayer, nonuniform objects. Also, CIT does not require any contact with objects during its application.POC is developing CIT-based tools that address Air Force needs for depot or in-field in situ NDE of various large, nonuniform, multilayer aluminum/titanium/composite and honeycomb sandwich aircraft/spacecraft structures with complex geometries, and provide accurate detection, identification, and precise 3D localization and measurement of possible internal and surface defects (corrosion, cracks, voids, delaminations, porosity, and inclusions), and also disbonds, core and skin defects, and intrusion of foreign fluids (e.g., fresh and salt water, oil) inside honeycomb sandwich structures. The feasibility of the tool was successfully demonstrated in NDE of various aircraft structure samples provided by the Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, etc., and in situ NDE of C-5 and C-130 aircraft. Such tools can detect and localize individual internal defects with dimensions about 2 mm 3 , and honeycomb disbond defects less than 6 mm by 6 mm by the thickness of the adhesive of ≤100 µm. The current scanning speed of aircraft/spacecraft structures is about 2-3 min/ft 2 (20-30 min/m 2 ). Acknowledgement:The POC authors would like to acknowledge the generous support of the U.S. Air Force (Air Force SBIR contracts FA8501-13-C-028, FA8501-10-C-0034, etc.).
Qualtech Systems, Inc. (QSI)’s integrated tool set, consisting of TEAMS-Designer® and TEAMS-RDS® provides a comprehensive digital twin-driven and model-based systems engineering approach that can be deployed for fault management throughout the equipment life-cycle – from its design for fault management to condition-based maintenance of the deployed equipment. In this paper, we present QSI’s approach towards adapting and enhancing their existing model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach towards a comprehensive digital twin that incorporates constructs necessary for development of a Process Failure Modes and Criticality Analysis (P-FMECA) and integrates that with an Equipment FMECA. The paper will discuss the various levels of automation towards incorporation of these model constructs and their reuse towards automation of the development of the different digital twins and subsequently the automatic generation of the combined Process and Equipment FMECA. This automated ability to develop the integrated FMECA that incorporates both Process-level Failure Modes and Equipment-level Failure Modes allows the system designer and operators to correlate and identify process failures down to their root causes at the equipment-level and thereby producing a comprehensive actionable systems-level view of the entire Smart Manufacturing facility from a fault management design and operations perspective. The paper will present the application of this novel technology for the Advanced Metal Finishing Facility (AMFF) at the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Complex (WR-ALC) in Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, as part of WR-ALC’s initiative towards model-based enterprise (MBE) and smart manufacturing.
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