University and SC Army National Guard announce partnership to improve helicopter maintenance
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| Inside the facility | |
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| Tail and shaft of an Apache inside of the facility and an actual Apache helicopter | |
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| The team of students who helped build the facility from scratch. Graduate students Andrew Jarvie (far left), Trevor Roebuck (next to Jarvie), and Ronak Shah (far right) with undergraduates and students from the Governor's School and their advisors built the facility from the ground up. | |
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| Dr. Abdel Bayoumi, CBM's lead researcher, and Major General Stanhope S. Spears, Adjutant General of the SC National Guard | |
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The University of South Carolina is partnering with the US Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) and the SC Army National Guard on a multi-million-dollar testing program that could make Apache, Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters safer and more economical to maintain and operate.
The university and the SC Army National Guard officially opened the testing facility, called the Condition-Based Maintenance Research Center, Thursday (August 2) on the university campus. Operated by the university's College of Engineering and Computing, the 3,500-square-foot center is one of only two in the nation established by the Army to test its Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) program, which will focus on mechanical diagnosis and prognosis of helicopters and their predictive maintenance.
The South Carolina center will test helicopter drivetrains – the components that generate the helicopters' power.
Dr. Abdel Bayoumi, a professor of mechanical engineering and the CBM's lead researcher at the university, said the program is being funded with nearly $5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Brig. Gen. Les Eisner, assistant adjutant general of the SC Army Air National Guard, said that the Army's collaboration with the University of South Carolina is key to ensuring the success of CBM.
"Universities have the expertise and facilities to perform basic and applied research and to analyze data from these studies," Eisner said.
"This is critical in our efforts to establish a Condition-Based Maintenance program that will enable us to make maintenance decisions based on actual equipment condition," he said.
Traditionally, maintenance decisions have been based on time or use intervals. But CBM will identify problems early, when they are less costly to fix, and also promote maintenance only when needed, often extending the life of equipment and reducing maintenance costs. The studies are critical: Military helicopters cost from $25 - $50 million.
University President Andrew Sorensen said this research has real-world applications for the men and women who are on the front lines of protecting the nation.
"The Condition-Based Maintenance Research Center is a stellar example of the important role that research at the University of South Carolina has in the lives of people in our state and nation," Sorensen said.
The university has a breadth of experience in working with the military, he said.
"Research supported by the U.S. Department of Defense has supported numerous research programs, including a $3.6 million grant for brain imaging to detect deception and grants to develop the electric systems for Navy vessels and electronics for missile defense," Sorensen said. "Being selected for these important studies underscores the reputation for research excellence that our faculty have earned."
Bayoumi said mechanical engineers have begun tests on helicopter components, some of which have been used in the war in Iraq and in a number of civilian applications.
"Not only will our research affect the day-to-day operation of military aircraft, but it also will enable maintenance crews to detect problems before they become catastrophic," he said.
The $2.9-million center was designed and built by a team of undergraduate and graduate students in mechanical engineering working with Bayoumi, and many of the materials for the center were created and built in the college's other fabrication facilities and laboratories.
To learn more about the CBM program, go to http://cbm.me.sc.edu/index.html
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