A method of Health Assessment for Aerospace Launch Site Ground Equipments

A paradigm shift is emerging in maintenance strategies from the traditional breakdown and scheduled maintenance to Condition-based Maintenance and Prognostic and Health Management. CBM and PHM technology is required for Aerospace Launch Site Ground Equipments. Among its key technologies, Health Assessment is of great importance. A method of Health Assessment using Mahalanobis Distance is put forward and validated in this paper. Firstly, the characteristic of aerospace launch site Ground Equipments and the benefit of using PHM are introduced. Secondly, the Health Assessment Algorithm and Procedure are formulated. Lastly, the centrifugal pump is chosen as an application of the algorithm to test the validity, results show that the the method be generally applicable. This is merely a case study using simplified models, however, advantage is surely confirmed.