| AIRWORTHINESS ASSURANCE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
(AACE)
 Mission:
To
work in partnership with academia, industry and government to provide
timely, cost-effective, validated, advanced technologies and a skilled
workforce to improve airworthiness assurance over the short, mid and long-term.
It will maintain a repository of knowledge and build a talent pool which
will improve aviation safety and strengthen the competitive position of
the U.S. aviation industry.
The
Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for aviation safety and
for ensuring that the public has confidence in the aviation system. In Chicago,
that means they were responsible for the 5.8 million domestic and 6.1
million international passengers that traveled through the city’s
airports from January 2004 to April 2004.
Air transportation has become an essential element of the national and global economies, both in the transport of people and goods. By
2015, the number of passengers traveling on U.S. air carriers is expected
to double. If this prediction is realized, radical technological advances
are necessary for our aviation system to retain itself as the safest in
the world. With the expected increase in passenger travel, it is imperative
that the number of accidents does not increase to a level that the public
would find unacceptable. Recognizing this, the FAA established the Airworthiness
Assurance Center of Excellence (AACE) in September 1997 with
the goal of reducing the fatal aviation accident rate by 80 percent, as recommended to the President by the White House Commission on
Aviation Safety and Security. AACE has combined
its effort with industry, government and academia and focused on the following:
- Advanced Materials
Study
- Crashworthiness
- Damage Tolerance
for Propellers
- Inspection, Maintenance
and Repair
- Propulsion and
Fuels
- Software and Digital
Systems Safety
- Validation and
Technology Transfer
OBJECTIVES
- Provide an integrated
approach to airworthiness assurance
- Support FAA rulemaking
and compliance
- Enhance the knowledge
base to advance aviation-related technologies
- Provide technical
leadership and maintain a window on other programs for the FAA
- Provide quick response
to industry and FAA requests
- Support the FAA
National Resource Specialists
- Increase the number
and quality of aviation technical professionals
- Develop and transfer
cost-effective technologies
- Promote communication
between the partners
NIAR
is a core member of AACE, along with 29 other universities distributed all over the United States. AACE is one
of NIAR’s three FAA Centers of Excellence and the focal point for
the FAA’s research and development (R&D) efforts to enhance
aircraft safety. NIAR's abilities allow us to participate in all seven
focus areas.
In
April 2003, AACE selected Lamia Salah, research associate at NIAR, as
the Center of Excellence Student of the Year. The FAA, NIAR, and industry
have jointly identified multiple research projects in areas such as composite
materials, damage tolerance, crashworthiness, icing, human factors, flight
control and virtual reality.
PROJECTS
- Investigation of
Adhesive Behavior in Aircraft Applications (J. Tomblin, C. Yang)
- Development of
Component Head Injury Test Apparatus (H. Lankarani)
- Survey of Aviation
Maintenance Technical Manuals (A. Chaparro)
- Bonded Repair of
Composite Airframe Structures (J. Tomblin)
- Experimental Study
of Super-Cooled Large Droplet (SLD) Impingement Effects (M. Papadakis)
- Simulation and
Flight Test Assessment of Safety Benefits and Certification Aspects
of Advanced Flight Control Systems (J. Steck)
- Assessment of
Effects of Mixed Phase Icing Conditions on Thermal Ice Protection Systems
(M. Papadakis)
- Data and Methodologies
for Structural Life Evaluation of Small Airplanes (J. Locke)
- Continued Electromagnetic
Protection Integrity of Aircraft and Systems Phase III (J. O'Loughlin)
- Experimental Studies
of Fuel Cloud Formation in Fuel Tank Ullage Phase II (D. Koert)
- Effect of Critical
Ice Shapes on Finite Wing Geometries (M. Papadakis)
- Damage Resistance
and Tolerance of Sandwich Panels - Scaling Effects (J. Tomblin)
- Laminate Statistical
Allowable Generation for Fiber Reinforced Composite Materials (J. Tomblin)
- Evaluation of Airworthiness
for Aging Small Airplanes (J. Tomblin)
- Data and Methodologies
for Structural Life Evaluation of Small Airplanes (J. Locke)
- Fatigue Crack Growth
Testing to Quantify the Effects of Shot Peening for Metallic Rotorcraft
Components (J. Locke)
- Statistical Loads
Database Development (J. Locke)
- Damage Resistance
and Tolerance of Composite Sandwich Panels, Phase V ( J. Tomblin)
- Development of
a Reference LWC Probe (M. Papadakis)
- Aging of Composite
Aircraft Structure: Decommissioned Boeing 737 Tail (J. Tomblin)
- Continued Electromagnetic
Protection Integrity for Aircraft and Systems - Phase IV (J. O'Loughlin)
- Identifying Techniques
for Improving the Reliability of Aviation Maintenance Manuals (A. Chapparo)
- Compilation of
Experimental Water Droplet Impingement Data Obtained by Wichita State
University (M. Papadakis)
- Computational Study
of Large Droplet Dynamics in the Vicinity of an Airfoil (M. Papadakis)
- Adhesive Characterization
and Element Testing of Fatigued and Damaged Bonded Joints (J. Tomblin)
- Dynamic Seat Cushion
Replacement for Aircraft (J. Tomblin)
CONTACT
John S.
Tomblin, Ph.D
Executive Director, NIAR
Distinguished Professor, Aerospace Engineering, WSU
john.tomblin@wichita.edu
(316) 978-5234
|
