Simulations prove out work area accessibility and clearances

Citation

(2005), "Simulations prove out work area accessibility and clearances", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 77 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2005.12777dab.010

Simulations prove out work area accessibility and clearances

Simulations prove out work area accessibility and clearances

Keywords: Aircraft, Simulation, Computer software

Delmia Corp., a Dassault Systèmes company, recently announced that BAE Systems is using DELMIA digital manufacturing tools to assist in the design-for-maintenance requisite of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program.

With the stated four criteria of the JSF program being that the three variant aircraft are “lethal, survivable, supportable and affordable”, maintainability becomes extremely important. BAE Systems has applied Delmia Envision Ergo software to ensure that 90 per cent of all the selected maintenance tasks on the aft fuselage can be carried out by all of the pre-determined maintenance personnel.

Ahmed, Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) specialist at BAE Systems, explained: “The simulation toolset has been used to ascertain clearances for maintenance of the fuselage once the aircraft is in use. We have been exploring whether there is adequate access to the fasteners and equipment using collision detection by simulating the maintenance bays that have minimized access. Our simulations for maintenance items, such as hand tooling, have taken the form of quick simulations rather than detailed studies. These are then used by manufacturing engineers to further confirm their concepts and also to give greater confidence to the maintenance engineers”.

“Maintenance specialists have helped design support equipment”, continued Ahmed, “defining clearances and sizes of lifting components. One prime example includes a component jack used to attach batteries and actuators. Initial calculations showed that just 15 per cent of tilting movement was necessary. However, the simulation using Delmia Envision identified that a 27 per cent tilt angle was actually required”.

Envision has also been used to create and analyze the entire aft fuselage assembly line at a very early stage in the design process, allowing iterative improvements along the way. Simulations have been created to examine clearances for the manufacture of the fuselage, the installation of equipment and the final assembly of the structure, which will occur at Fort Worth. The F-35 will be the first modern jet fighter built on a moving production line, with a planned production run of more than 2,500 aircraft for the US and the UK. Delmia solutions are being used throughout the JSF program in collaboration with BAE Systems US partner, Lockheed Martin Company.

“We find that simulation is the perfect method of conveying any difficulties we might have and proving out a solution”, concluded Ahmed, “especially as the engineering team behind the F-35 is international. Our final step will be the creation of detailed simulations for the different F-35 variants once the design is fully mature. However, our early involvement is a testament to the success of concurrent engineering on this project”.