Do we need a new model for dent evaluation? A commentary.
Leonard Buck
Helping airlines and MROs to save up to 90% time in dent-mapping and reporting.
Is the current model for dent evaluation 'good enough', or does it just follow the limitations of traditional analog and manual measurement tools?
Let's discuss.
But first things first.?
In Pasquale Lafiosca's recently published research paper "Aircraft skin inspections: towards a new model for dent evaluation", he he poses the hypothesis that "the current approach discards any information about the actual shape" and "the current SRM dent representation is ambiguous and insufficient for an objective evaluation of the damage.
?So…what’s the current approach?
Damages like dents on primary aircraft structures are a safety issue. Dents are extremely common during aircraft operations due to ground support vehicles, hail, debris on the runway, etc. Once dents are detected, they need to be measured and qualified. Traditionally, technicians perform measurements with depth gauges, rulers, etc.?
The structural repair manual (SRM) is the primary document containing strict guidelines about assessing and evaluating dent damage. Following the SRM, dents are first qualified by their dimensional characteristics: length, width, and depth. Additional properties like distance to certain aircraft parts, type of material, etc., also play a role.
So far, so good.?
Pasquale now argues that these three geometrical parameters aren't enough to evaluate a dent's structural impact and classify the damage as go/no-go.
Even by fixing the three parameters (length, width, and depth), he argues, you can obtain multiple different dent shapes, even if all those dents would be classified similarly (see illustration below).
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In his paper, Pasquale derives another model for dent classification from a mathematical standpoint. He suggests including four additional values --
While it is possible to derive these four additional elements from 3D scanning information, obtaining these measurements in the traditional workflow with depth gauges and rulers is impossible.
As 8tree's customer case studies have shown several times, traditional dent measurements with a ruler, flashlight, and depth gauge are error-prone and inaccurate. Pasquale gives another perspective, stating that the three parameters (length, depth, width) the industry uses today to qualify damage are insufficient.
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Back to the beginning
Helping airlines and MROs to save up to 90% time in dent-mapping and reporting.
1 年Thanks for sharing, Nicolas Pinto - what are your thoughts on this?
Helping airlines and MROs to save up to 90% time in dent-mapping and reporting.
1 年Pasquale Lafiosca, can you please share the source/link to the original research paper you published? Is it accessible to the public?
Helping airlines and MROs to save up to 90% time in dent-mapping and reporting.
1 年Here's the summary of Pasquale Lafiosca's research paper. https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/aircraft-dents-new-model-mro-pasquale-lafiosca/