Center for Predictive Maintenance
College of Engineering and Computing
The Center for Predictive Maintenance (CPM) at the University of South Carolina has been an active player in advancing and optimizing maintenance practices for defense aviation. Research activities in the area of on-board sensing began in 1998 and since then, the Center has strived to take on new tasks and responsibilities to satisfy the needs of this growing industry. CPM's core capabilities include component testing, cost-benefit analysis, creating predictive tools, and digital transformation.
Contact
OFFICE LOCATION
McNair Aerospace Center
1000 Catawba Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Email
bayoumi@sc.edu
Phone
803-777-0106
Research Interests
Cost-benefit analysis or value engineering is a tool used to measure the value added to a system by implementing on-board sensing, HUMS, CBM, and PMx methodologies. A key area that the CPM team has investigated is the development of a performance indicator for CBM. This project looks at the additional costs for CBM compared to other traditional maintenance processes. Value added is addressed by quantitative benefits like cost savings, qualitative benefits (such as sense of safety, performance) and time savings. The financial effectiveness of CBM implementation on aircrafts is examined by developing a generic cost-benefit analysis (CBA) model. The model would account and convert relevant aspects of costs and benefits into a single unit of measurement which is dollar value and determines the cost-benefit ratio.
The test stands are designed to investigate the endurance of drive train components, such as gear boxes, bearings, and drive shafts, while simulating flight loading conditions. To address certain types of mechanical failures, USC is currently focused on the condition based maintenance of the tail rotor drive train (TRDT) and main rotor swashplate (MRSP) of the AH-64, as well as the auxiliary power unit (APU) of the UH-60.
