GENERAL NEWS
Digital copy of B-1
B-1B Lancer tail number 85-0092 is lifted and placed on flatbed trailers for the 1,000-mile journey to Wichita , Kan . In April 2020 .
With a top speed of 900 mph , a payload capacity of 75,000 pounds and numerous successful operations over the past thirty years , the B-1B Lancer is arguably one of the most lethal aircraft in the U . S . Air Force inventory .
In an effort to keep the aircraft flying and operational , the B-1 Program Office is sponsoring an initiative with Wichita State University ’ s National Institute of Aviation Research , or NIAR , to create a virtual or digital twin of the bomber , which will help identify maintenance and structural issues with the aircraft before they occur .
“ Right now , we are in a very reactive state when the B-1 has an issue ,” said Lt . Col . Joseph Lay , B-1 Engineering Branch material leader . “ For example , if we find a crack on the ( B-1 ) fleet , we then have to go and develop the repair , which isn ’ t the way you want to be . You want to already have the repair on the shelf , so that when you need it , it ’ s there . The digital twin will help us get to that point .”
Assisting in the effort in Wichita , is a B-1 that was pulled from the Bone Yard officially known as the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group or AMARG at Davis- Monthan Air Force Base , Arizona . The aircraft , which was manufactured in 1985 and was last operational in 2002 , was loaded onto flatbed trucks for the 1,000-mile drive to Wichita .
Currently , the team at NIAR are in the process of disassembling , inspecting and scanning every part of the aircraft down to the nuts and bolts and pieces of skin .
“ Through the scanning process , we will discover all the places that saw structural failure or damage . It will create a living medical record for the B-1 ,” said Lay . “ Then we will be able to apply data from aircraft in the field to help us predict areas that are more likely to have structural issues . This living virtual model of the B-1 ’ s structure will be superimposed with layers of maintenance data , test / inspection results and analysis tools , which can be integrated over the aircraft ’ s life cycle .”
While it will take six years to disassemble and scan every part of the plan , the work that the programme office and NIAR team have done , since the effort started in April 2020 , is already helping the active B-1 fleet .
“ We have been scanning the wings , and the wing scans have been helping us understand how to build new repairs for some of the cracks that we have seen in the wings themselves ,” Lay added . “ We are also currently developing inspection techniques and repairs for areas on the upper fuselage and sharing that data with the OEM . We will use this data to better understand why we have seen fatigue damage in those areas .”
While the B-1 is the first military aircraft to start the process of being completely disassembled , scanned and digitally recreated , it certainly will not be the last .
“ This ( digital twin ) is a revolutionary gamechanger for the B-1 Program Office and the Department of Defense as a whole ,” Lay explained . “ As technology shows us new capabilities , the military needs to be quicker to adopt these capabilities and practices , because this will really support the B-1 and help us get to 2040 .” n
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