Deriving Function-failure Similarity Information for Failure-free Rotorcraft Component Design

Abstract

Performance and safety are the top concerns of high-risk aerospace applications at NASA. Eliminating or reducing performance and safety problems can be achieved with a thorough understanding of potential failure modes in the designs that lead to these problems. The majority of techniques use prior knowledge and experience as well as Failure Modes and Effects as methods to determine potential failure modes of aircraft. During the design of aircraft, a general technique is needed to ensure that every potential failure mode is considered, while avoiding spending time on improbable failure modes. In this work, this is accomplished by mapping failure modes to specific components, which are described by their functionality. The failure modes are then linked to the basic functions that are carried within the components of the aircraft. Using this technique, designers can examine the basic functions, and select appropriate analyses to eliminate or design out the potential failure modes. This method was previously applied to a simple rotating machine test rig with basic functions that are common to a rotorcraft. In this paper, this technique is applied to the engine and power train of a rotorcraft, using failures and functions obtained from accident reports and engineering drawings.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Failure analysis; Failure-free component design; Function-failure commonality; Functional decomposition for product design; Functional modeling

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 American Society of Mechanical Engineers, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2002

Link to Full Text

Share

 
COinS