Corrosion detection and monitoring are essential diagnostic and prognostic means for preserving both equipment integrity and mission readiness and reducing life cycle cost of military aircraft.

The costs of corrosion, as well as its structural impact, become significantly larger with aging fleets. To date, corrosion has been managed via periodic inspections, with the assumption that all corrosion damages would be found and repaired prior to becoming critical. This very expensive approach seems unsuitable for all aircraft parts and does not consider the structural impacts of existing corrosion. Thus, a “predict and manage” philosophy must be integrated with the development of smart devices, in order to conduct overhaul inspections only when and where necessary. Based on a non-destructive approach, this brief review paper provides a summary of monitoring techniques being selected to be tested and eventually applied on Italian Air Force (IAF) Fleet aircraft. Early corrosion damage detection in real time and over a period of deployment/service is the goal, “smart find and fix” philosophy and “hidden monitoring” strategy are the tools.

Subject
Nondestructive testing, Costs, Sensors, Materials, Moisture, Aircraft, Tools, Inspection, Corrosion detection, Force, Repair, Equipment, Maintenance
Keywords:
Health monitoring devices, hidden areas corrosion, corrosivity sensors, microwave detectors, aircraft
Government work published by the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) with permission of the author(s). Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2004
GOV
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