A-10 implementing prognostics with the digital thread

icaf2023 Tracking Number 134

Digital transformation is trending across the United States Air Force (USAF) to optimize modern and legacy aircraft lifecycle management. A desired output of the digital thread is to provide accurate and efficient prognostic tools to forecast the future structural health of a defense system. Legacy aircraft, like the A-10, face additional challenges in implementing the digital thread compared to modern counterparts; however, legacy aircraft would benefit further and immediately from digital thread predictive capabilities. This research will investigate the route the USAF’s A-10 aircraft structural integrity program (ASIP) takes to implement a complete digital thread solution for digital engineering, specifically regarding prognostic tools. It is necessary to have high data quality and informative data models to make accurate predictions. Additionally, the data type captured must also meet the requirements of data models. This research found that specific data types needed were often fragmented and must be amalgamated before analysis could be performed. The acculturation of maintenance groups to digital transformation and engineering rigor is another requirement identified for implementing the digital thread and is often overlooked. While these requirements presented many challenges, setbacks, and lessons learned, A-10 has built the foundation needed to begin implementing prognostic maintenance tools. Maintenance data is digitally captured with digital thread software that provides an interactive 3D environment to tie metadata to coordinates. In addition, A-10 has piloted smart tools to take full credit for repair operations in damage tolerance predictions. Analyzed maintenance data is then integrated with additional PLM and SLM systems to provide a holistic interpretation of the health of the active fleet. While in its infancy, integrating these systems will eventually lead to a complete digital twin. A significant takeaway from this study is that implementing the digital thread for prognostics is not trivial; ensuring successful operations of these systems and that captured data is complete and verified required multiple additions of full-time personnel to A-10’s technical division. However, for A-10, the ability to proactively maintain an aging fleet comes with many benefits, including a significant reduction in sustainment costs, better management of risk, and improved aircraft availability.