Prevention Effectiveness Foreign Object Debris Study (PrE-FOD)
Abstract
This project investigated the effectiveness of several types of support equipment commonly used to prevent Foreign Object Debris (FOD) from damaging aircraft engines and structures. All of the equipment investigated was designed to collect FOD from the flightline surface, thereby reducing damage risk. The study examined motorized flightline sweepers, towable FOD sweepers (FOD-busters), and magnetic bars. A series of site visits was conducted to operational units in order to get user feedback on the effectiveness of the various pieces of equipment. Additionally, a limited controlled experiment was conducted at Wright-Patterson AFB to quantitatively evaluate each of the equipment types. The user comments and the quantitative evaluation both identified serious shortfalls in the Air Force's current FOD prevention equipment, both in terms of effectiveness and reliability. Several possible actions to address these shortfalls are listed in the report.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA367384
Entities
People
- Dolly Parker
- Richard Weimer
- Steve Grace
- Steve Powers
- Tony Gossard