Date of Award

9-17-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Department of Systems Engineering and Management

First Advisor

David R. Jacques, PhD.

Abstract

Health monitoring systems have demonstrated the ability to detect potential failures in components and predict how long until a critical failure is likely to occur. Implementing these systems on fielded structures, aircraft, or other vehicles is often a struggle to prove cost savings or operational improvements beyond improved safety. A system architecture to identify how the health monitoring systems are integrated into fielded aircraft is developed to assess cost, operations, maintenance, and logistics trade-spaces. The efficiency of a health monitoring system is examined for impacts to the operation of a squadron of cargo aircraft revealing sensitivity to and tolerance for false alarms as a key factor in total system performance. The research focuses on the impacts of system-wide changes to several key metrics: materiel availability, materiel reliability, ownership cost, and mean downtime. Changes to theses system-wide variables include: diagnostic and prognostic error, false alarm sensitivity, supply methods and timing, maintenance manning, and maintenance repair window. Potential cost savings in maintenance and logistics processes are identified as well as increases in operational availability. The result of this research is the development of a tool to conduct trade-space analyses on the effects of health monitoring techniques on system performance and operations and maintenance costs.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENV-DS-15-S-050

DTIC Accession Number

ADA621750

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