The Development of Technological Support for RAF Early Failure Detection Centers.
Abstract
Because of staffing policy within the Royal Air Force, personnel are rotated on a regular basis. This can often result in an experienced member of a team being replaced by someone with minimal knowledge of the job. This is true of Early Failure Detection Centres (EFDCs) which perform first line Equipment Health Monitoring (EHM) at RAF air-bases. Experience is probably one of the most powerful tools in EHM and, in particular, debris monitoring; therefore, there is an ongoing need for the development of condition monitoring systems and techniques that will assist RAF EFDC staff new to the post. The RAF use a number of modem analytical techniques in their EFDCs, including optical microscopy, image analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM/EDX) micro analysis packages and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) analytical equipment. Therefore, the need exists for equally sophisticated, but user-friendly tools that will aid the EFDC operative in the everyday job of EHM. For a number of years the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Wales Swansea and the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency ?DERA) Fuels and Lubricants Centre, Pyestock have been collaborating on such projects, funded by the Ministry of Defence. The aim of this paper is to give a summary of the work so far and to outline intended future programmes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 24, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA347997
Entities
People
- B. Roylance
- D. Hodges
- T. Barraclough
- T. J. Nowell
- T. Sperring
Organizations
- University of Wales