Structural Integrity and Maintenance

The course is split in a generic part and a part with special topics. For a number of topics, guest lecturers are invited.

Generic part

- Introduction: Developments in aviation, aircraft technology and safety, effects on Maintenance. Design en safety concepts (safe life, fail safe, damage tolerance).

- Maintenance Fundamentals: Definition of maintenance, Maintenance concepts and policies, Failures of airframe structures (Failure definition, Failure types and classes, Degradation types, Reliability, Probability of failures, Relation failure classes and actual failure types, such as fatigue, corrosion, etc.).

- Airworthiness Requirements: Main aspects of DT requirements, Fatigue en Damage Tolerance Evaluation (Selection of Critical Locations, Classification of Structure). Regulations applicable to maintenance.

- Maintenance of Airframe Structures (maintaining structural integrity): ATA-100 system hierarchy, MSG-3 methods (Structural Maintenance Program), Relation between design concepts (e.g. Damage Tolerance), actual design, maintenance and airworthiness requirements. How to translate design results in to maintenance, Structural Repair Manual, Health/condition monitoring (Load/Usage Monitoring en Fleet Life Management).

Special Topics (guest lecturers)

- Non Destructive Inspections of Airframe Structures: Developments in NDI methods, NDI methods in practical situations.

- Load/Usage Monitoring en Fleet Life Management.

- Repair of Airframe Structures: Developments in repair methods.

- Structural Integrity and Maintenance of Gas Turbines.