Advancing Aeronautical Safety A Review of NASA's Aviation Safety-Related Research Programs (2010) / Chapter Skim
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3 REVIEW OF SAFETY RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
3 REVIEW OF SAFETY RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Pages 21-48
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From page 21... ...
To answer these questions, the committee received numerous briefings from NASA and consulted the technical plans of the Aviation Safety Program's four main research projects, each of which addresses one or two of the six research concerns.
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From page 22... ...
R01778 vector editable TABLE 3.1 Aviation Safety Program 5-year Budget, Fy 2010 to Fy 2014 Millions of dollars Fy 2010 Fy 2011 Fy 2012 Fy 2013 Fy 2014 Aviation Safety Program Totals 60.1 59.6 59.2 61.7 62.5 Aircraft Aging and Durability 11.4 11.2 11.7 12.1 12.1 Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck 12.5 13.3 11.6 12.6 13.3 Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control 16.4 17.0 17.6 18.2 18.2 Integrated Vehicle Health Management 19.8 18.2 18.3 18.9 18.9 SOURCE: Amy Pritchett, Director, NASA Aviation Safety Program, "Safety-Related Research in NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate: Introduction to ARMD's Organization and Programmatic Overview," presentation to the committee, June 23, 2009.
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From page 23... ...
NASA also believes it is particularly well suited for pursuing safety solutions in a more integrated manner, considering the roles and effects of new technology, procedures, human performance, and training. Defining and Prioritizing Research Objectives Most of the Aviation Safety Program's research on New Operations is mapped to the work in the IIFD project.
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From page 24... ...
, as well as ARMD's Airspace Systems Program and Fundamental Aeronautics Program. Resource Allocation Each of the New Operations research objectives receives varying levels of funding, as shown in Figure 3.2.
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From page 25... ...
. Defining and Prioritizing Research Objectives NASA's research into this area is split across the IIFD and IRAC projects, with additional work being done in the Fundamental Aeronautics Program.
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From page 26... ...
From an organizational standpoint, it was not entirely clear to the committee why research into rotorcraft icing is separate from other icing research and a part of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program as opposed to the Aviation Safety Program. The committee did not see this organization as particularly problematic, but no specific rationale was given to explain it to the committee.
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From page 27... ...
LOSS OF CONTROL As shown in Figure 3.4, loss of control is the most significant cause of fatal crashes by commercial jets world wide and is a problem NASA believes may be exacerbated by future aircraft with different handling qualities and dynamics in upset conditions. As further support for focusing on Loss of Control as a safety research concern, NASA pointed to several safety challenges in the National Plan that are relevant, including the following: • Stabilizing and maneuvering next-generation aircraft in response to safety issues in the NextGen airspace, • Rapidly and safely incorporating advances in avionics, • Understanding and predicting system-wide safety concerns of the airspace system and the vehicles envisioned by NextGen, and • Understanding the key parameters of human performance in aviation.
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From page 28... ...
The research is also intended to increase survivability and improve vehicle handling qualities under adverse conditions. 7 See NASA, Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control Technical Plan, Aviation Safety Program, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, NASA, Washington, D.C., May 1, 2009, available at http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/nra_pdf/irac_tech_plan_c1.pdf.
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From page 29... ...
Adaptive control as it functions in the presence of damage has been a popular topic of research in flight control design for aircraft safety and is one of the R&T challenges identified in the NRC Decadal Survey. yet, whereas adaptive control has demonstrated recovery from loss of control in simulation and limited flight testing, it has not and will not be accepted until its behavior is better understood by pilots and deemed certifiable by the FAA for piloted aircraft.
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From page 30... ...
SOURCE: Amy Pritchett, Director, NASA Aviation Safety Pro gram, "Research Objective 3: Loss-of-Control," presentation to the committee, September 3, 2009. Resource Allocation Research for Loss of Control accounted for around 24 percent of the Aviation Safety Program budget in Fy 2009 and 10 percent in Fy 2010.8 The three Loss of Control research objectives receive varying levels of fund Figure 3-5 ing, as shown in Figure 3.5.
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From page 31... ...
While certification challenges represent a significant obstacle to the use of adaptive control systems per se, NASA's contribution to addressing these challenges can have significant benefits irrespec tive of whether these control systems are furthered. DuRABLE AIRCRAFT STRuCTuRES AND SYSTEMS Most of NASA's research on Durable Aircraft Structures and Systems is undertaken in the Aviation Safety Program's AAD research project.
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From page 32... ...
material deformation and failure analysis • Finite element methods for composite structure impact mechanics analysis • Micro-structural modeling of superalloy disk material Mitigate Theme • Aging of composite laminates • Aging of bonded composites • Materials aging: accelerated testing • Development and characterization of improved adhesives • Molecular modeling of epoxy-based materials • Test technique for triaxial braid composites • Composite material tests in aged condition • Impact tests of aged composites for fan cases • Superalloy disk rim durability assessment and enhancement • Baseline hot corrosion characterization • Develop ductile coatings for superalloy engine disks SOURCE: Amy Pritchett, Director, NASA Aviation Safety Program, "Research Objective 4: Durable Aircraft Structures and Systems," presentation to the committee, September 3, 2009.
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From page 33... ...
2. 12 NASA, Aviation Safety Program Aircraft Aging and Durability Project Technical Plan Summary, Washington, D.C., available at http:// www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/nra_pdf/aad_technical_plan_c1.pdf, p.
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From page 34... ...
SOURCE: NASA, Aviation Safety Program Aircraft Aging and Durability Project Technical Plan Summary, Washington, D.C., available at http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/nra_pdf/aad_technical_plan_c1.pdf.
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From page 35... ...
As a result of a long history of NASA work in airframe structures and engines, AAD researchers are members of a number of industry and government working groups, including 13 Amy Pritchett, Director, NASA Aviation Safety Program, "Research Objective 4: Durable Aircraft Structures and Systems," presentation to the committee, September 3, 2009, p.
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From page 36... ...
When asked to explain what prompted the Aviation Safety Program's interest in this research concern, NASA briefers referred to the National Plan's safety challenges of "monitoring and assessing aircraft health at both the material and component level"14 and "ensuring safe operations for the complex mix of vehicles anticipated within the airspace system enabled by NextGen."15 They also cited five relevant research challenges with high safety priority in the Decadal Survey, as listed in Appendix E, Table E.5. Going forward, the agency expressed concern that failures at the component, subsystem, and system levels will remain a significant source of risk in NextGen aircraft employing new materials, using more electric and power systems, operating for longer periods under harsh environments, and depending on more complex software systems.
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From page 37... ...
NASA's coordination activities with JPDO in this area were somewhat vague and were thus difficult to evaluate. 16 NASA, Integrated Vehicle Health Management Technical Plan, Version 2.0, Aviation Safety Program, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, NASA, Washington, D.C., November 2, 2009, available at http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/nra_pdf/ivhm_tech_plan_c1.pdf, p.
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From page 38... ...
methods and tools for NextGen airspace and aircraft that NASA has accepted responsibility to fill. As an additional basis for pursuing these avenues of research, NASA cited 13 NRC Decadal Survey safety challenges (see Appendix E, Table E.6)
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From page 39... ...
Greater recognition of this challenge in the IVHM technical plan is warranted to ensure appropriate research objectives and approaches. It was not clear to the committee how the cited safety challenges from the Decadal Survey or the National Plan informed the research objectives within this research concern, and overall, the process NASA used to identify objectives was obscure.
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From page 40... ...
SOURCE: Amy Pritchett, Director, NASA Aviation Safety Program, "Research Objective 6: Analyzing Complex Systems for Safety," presentation to the com mittee, September 3, 2009. Figure 3-8 Aviation Safety Program budget in Fy 2009 and 6 percent in Fy 2010.19 Funds from the American Recovery and R01778 Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
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From page 41... ...
SAFETY-RELATED RESEARCH IN THE FuNDAMENTAL AERONAuTICS PROgRAM Recognizing that its charge extends beyond the research being conducted in NASA's Aviation Safety Program, the committee heard briefings regarding safety-related research within the Fundamental Aeronautics Program. Unfortunately, the committee could not delve into the research as thoroughly as it was able to examine the research in the Aviation Safety Program; thus, its assessment is at a somewhat higher level than the six research concerns described above.
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From page 42... ...
The committee notes positively that much of the hazardous conditions research in the Fundamental Aeronautics Program is coordinated with researchers in the Aviation Safety Program, thus reducing overall inefficiencies. The committee, however, had some concerns regarding crash survivability.
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From page 43... ...
Some examples of research transition in icing research were provided, but these examples were similar to and contained fewer details than the transition efforts described to the committee for icing research in the Aviation Safety Program. 28Jay Dryer, Director, Fundamental Aeronautics Program, "NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program," presentation to the committee, November 19, 2009, pp.
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From page 44... ...
Defining and Prioritizing Research Objectives The goal of the Airspace Systems Program is to "develop and demonstrate future concepts, capabilities, and technologies that will enable major increases in the air traffic management capacity, flexibility, and efficiency, while maintaining safety, to meet NextGen requirements."29 As with research in the Fundamental Aeronautics Program, improving aviation safety is not the primary concern for the Airspace Systems Program. Research within the program is divided into two primary project areas: • The NextGen-Airspace Project, which encompasses a wide variety of topics broadly dealing with en route, transition, and terminal area airspace, and • The NextGen Airportal Project, which covers low altitude terminal area airspace and the airport environment.
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From page 45... ...
Even if the briefers had separated the data to show only the safety-related research, it likely would have been difficult or impossible for the committee to assess the appropriateness of the allocation, for the same reasons as described earlier in the chapter for other research concerns. Coordination with the FAA and Others NASA briefers indicated that the safety research in the Airspace Systems Program is coordinated with a variety of government entities through interagency agreements, including the FAA, NOAA, the Department of Transporta tion, and the USAF.
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From page 46... ...
vector editable 32% CADOM (Coordinated Arrival Departure Operations Management) PM (Project Management)
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From page 47... ...
Defining and Prioritizing the Research Objectives The committee observed deficiencies with regard to how NASA defines and prioritizes specific research activities across all six research concerns. It was difficult for the committee to understand how NASA prioritized objec tives and activities within each research concern, due to inadequate discussion of the matter in NASA's technical plans and briefings to the committee.
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From page 48... ...
Research Transition As with its coordination activities, NASA generally appears to have strong mechanisms in place to transition its research results. However, the committee notes that it did not observe any specific mechanisms or examples of technology transition in the On-Board System Failures and Faults research concern, and the examples of tran sitioning provided by NASA in the Analyzing Complex Systems for Safety research area were questionable at best.
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