Managing Data and Information of Aerospace Product Lifecycle

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2019) | Viewed by 40500

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Innovation Engineering, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy
Interests: product lifecycle management; business process management; technology management
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Co-Guest Editor
Department of Innovation Engineering, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy
Interests: product lifecycle management; design technologies and methods; technology management; innovation management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aeronautics supply chain is an intricate net of partners, collaborating, and with different roles and associated risks, in the realization of the parts and processes needed to realize the three main aircraft systems: Fuselage, avionics, and engine, as well as their related assembly activities. Different skills are required regarding methods and tools. Furthermore, there are several technological issues to be managed, and the cooperation mechanisms needed among the different actors, in the different roles of the supply chain, until a complete vehicle is realized.

Currently, air traffic is growing, with new destinations and a higher frequency of flights. More countries and cities are being linked with direct flights that allow constant passenger movement. It is foreseen that aircraft production will increase by 22.5% in the next five years, with the production of 1550 aircrafts[1], leading the global aerospace sector to organize opportune actions to manage the increasing demand and, also, the lifecycle of newer and older products. Several external contingencies will impact production in the aerospace sector and will determine new solutions to be adopted and also unexpected directions that have to be evaluated and considered to establish an overall and long-term strategy. Climate changes policies, innovativeness in the use of information (e.g., big data, cyber security, and sensors) and new air transport sector business models are only three other contingencies to be considered. In this landscape, technological innovation and advances are fundamental, both for optimizing and innovating products and, also, for enabling companies involved in product lifecycles to perform accurately their activities and increase their competitiveness.

Among the different phases of an aerospace product lifecycle, design is a critical one. Products and processes that are well designed will generate low reworks in the manufacturing phase, and change requests from manufacturing to design departments, generating lower lead-times and costs and a quicker achievement of the desired level of quality.

The role played by Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), either as IT tools or as a strategic business approach, is fundamental. Each time a company’s product is designed, physically realized, delivered to a customer, and, in some cases, also maintained and disposed, its lifecycle generates technical data and information, requiring adequate systems and approaches to be managed, with different impacts on organizational structure and behavior.

We welcome papers addressing the management of data, information and knowledge of aerospace systems and components through the use of technologies and methodologies for optimizing and innovating the activities of the engineering departments leading to increase quality and performance in aircraft production and reducing costs and environmental impacts.

[1] Deloitte, 2017, 2017 Global Aerospace and Defense sector outlook online available on https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/manufacturing/articles/global-a-and-d-outlook.html

Prof. Dr. Angelo Corallo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • product design
  • data management
  • information management
  • IT systems
  • organizational impacts
  • integrated frameworks
  • PLM

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 18443 KiB  
Article
Taxonomy of Gas Turbine Blade Defects
by Jonas Aust and Dirk Pons
Aerospace 2019, 6(5), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6050058 - 21 May 2019
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 18921
Abstract
Context—The maintenance of aero engines is intricate, time-consuming, costly and has significant functional and safety implications. Engine blades and vanes are the most rejected parts during engine maintenance. Consequently, there is an ongoing need for more effective and efficient inspection processes. Purpose—This paper [...] Read more.
Context—The maintenance of aero engines is intricate, time-consuming, costly and has significant functional and safety implications. Engine blades and vanes are the most rejected parts during engine maintenance. Consequently, there is an ongoing need for more effective and efficient inspection processes. Purpose—This paper defines engine blade defects, assigns root-causes, shows causal links and cascade effects and provides a taxonomy system. Approach—Defect types were identified from the literature and maintenance manuals, categorisations were devised and an ontology was created. Results—Defect was categorised into Surface Damage, Wear, Material Separation and Material Deformation. A second categorisation identified potential causes of Impact, Environmental causes, Operational causes, Poor maintenance, Poor manufacturing and Fatigue. These two categorisations were integrated with an ontology. Originality—The work provides a single comprehensive illustrated list of engine blade defects, and a standardised defect terminology, which currently does not exist in the aviation industry. It proposes a taxonomy for both engine blade defects and root-causes, and shows that these may be related using an ontology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Data and Information of Aerospace Product Lifecycle)
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14 pages, 988 KiB  
Article
Innovating the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Phase through Digitalization
by Marco Esposito, Mariangela Lazoi, Antonio Margarito and Lorenzo Quarta
Aerospace 2019, 6(5), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6050053 - 9 May 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8215
Abstract
Improving processes in a company starts from a deep knowledge of the current context, of the needs for improvement and of the objectives to be satisfied. Sometimes, traditional processes can benefit from a techno-organizational innovation that changes the way of work by introducing [...] Read more.
Improving processes in a company starts from a deep knowledge of the current context, of the needs for improvement and of the objectives to be satisfied. Sometimes, traditional processes can benefit from a techno-organizational innovation that changes the way of work by introducing new routines and solutions. The service industry related to maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) is characterized by performance linked with the knowledge about the components involved. The emerging technologies and the need for enhanced competitiveness has led to transform and innovate this kind of industry, introducing changes in organizational and technological aspects. MRO processes are characterized by high variability, caused by the uncertainty about the arrival status of a part to be maintained and the intervention needed. The management of MRO processes is, thus, one of the most important challenges for the research community. This paper aims to describe the result of a study carried out by university researchers and industrial engineers of an aerospace company. The proposed solution, the applied approach and expected impacts and benefits are described in the paper in order to lead future activities in the managerial and academic fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Data and Information of Aerospace Product Lifecycle)
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14 pages, 3467 KiB  
Article
Environment for Planning Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Operations
by Claudio Pascarelli, Manuela Marra, Giulio Avanzini and Angelo Corallo
Aerospace 2019, 6(5), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6050051 - 4 May 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5079
Abstract
Planning and executing missions in terms of trajectory generation are challenging problems in the operational phase of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) lifecycle. The growing adoption of UAVs in several civil applications requires the definition of precise procedures and tools to safely manage UAV [...] Read more.
Planning and executing missions in terms of trajectory generation are challenging problems in the operational phase of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) lifecycle. The growing adoption of UAVs in several civil applications requires the definition of precise procedures and tools to safely manage UAV missions that may involve flight over populated areas. The paper aims at providing a contribution toward the definition of a reliable environment, called FLIP (flight planner) for route planning and risk evaluation in the framework of mini- and micro-UAV missions over populated areas. The environment represents a decision support system (DSS) for UAV operators and other decision makers, like airports authorities and aviation agencies. A new ICT tool integrating an innovative procedure for evaluating the risk related to the use of UAV over populated areas is proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Data and Information of Aerospace Product Lifecycle)
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17 pages, 2384 KiB  
Article
Knowledge-Based Manufacturing: Management and Deployment of Manufacturing Rules through Product Lifecycle Management Systems
by Angelo Corallo, Manuela Marra and Claudio Pascarelli
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040041 - 6 Apr 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7269
Abstract
In manufacturing companies, computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) feature-based approaches have been developed for faster numerical control (NC) programming. They allow to automatically generate toolpath, recognizing both standard and custom machining features, and defining for each of them the best or preferred machining [...] Read more.
In manufacturing companies, computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) feature-based approaches have been developed for faster numerical control (NC) programming. They allow to automatically generate toolpath, recognizing both standard and custom machining features, and defining for each of them the best or preferred machining process based on predefined rules. The definition of Feature Based Manufacturing (FBM) rules requires advanced competences and skills; furthermore, the standardization required by these instruments is too rigorous for real machining practices. It is therefore necessary to extend the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) environment in order to be able to make explicit and manage manufacturing rules based on industrial best practice. The paper addresses these problems presenting a possible solution to optimize FBM information management and integration within the product lifecycle. A data model extension, covering new items such as “manufacturing rules” and “tool setting preferences”, and a new methodology for rules management and deployment are proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Data and Information of Aerospace Product Lifecycle)
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