The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) (San Antonio, Texas, USA) recently received two contracts totaling $23 million from the U.S. Air Force for a program to address aging aircraft structures and material degradation.
Under these contracts, SwRI will help the Air Force modernize methods to sustain the T-38 Talon, the A-10 Thunderbolt, and the B-52 Stratofortress. All three military aircraft first came into service more than 45 years ago.
“SwRI will assist with the full spectrum of structural sustainment for these aircraft,” says Luciano Smith, manager of SwRI’s structural integrity group. “Our analyses will help the Air Force know when, where, and how often to inspect the aircraft to determine when structural repairs are necessary.”
For decades, SwRI has provided technical engineering support to the Air Force to extend the life of aircraft that came into service in the 1960s and 1970s and have since exceeded their design life.
“SwRI has worked with the Air Force to maintain the structural integrity of the A-10 for more than 20 years and the T-38 for more than 40,” says David Wieland, who oversees aerospace structures section. “Under these new contracts, we will perform design, analyses, testing, and nondestructive inspections. We will also evaluate flight data recording, usage monitoring, and individual aircraft tracking systems.”
On all three fleets of aircraft, the structural integrity and performance will be evaluated under simulated real-world conditions. Work on these fleets has already begun, according to SwRI.
Since beginning structural integrity work for the Air Force in the early 1970s, SwRI has developed tools to support that effort. These include a flight data recording system to help engineers understand the structural stresses of various flight maneuvers, as well as the NASGRO software tool—a collaboration with NASA that analyzes fracture and fatigue crack growth in structures and mechanical components.
Additionally, SwRI has created specialized inspection probes and nondestructive systems to inspect through bushings without removal. This is currently undergoing a probability of detection study.
Source: SwRI, www.swri.org.