Service life extension program
Extending the service life of not only aircraft structures is a highly desirable activity from a financial perspective. Many aircraft structures are in good condition and their overall service life is already designed at the beginning of the design and implementation/production to a much higher standard in terms of structural strength and service life. It is necessary to include concepts related to structural damage in service life extension. The concept of damage tolerance (DT) as a suitable tool can be include in a life extension project. The general activities included in the DT project in terms of NDT are as follows:
(1) Introduction to aircraft structure.
(2) Introduction to critical areas of the structure.
(3) Selection of appropriate NDT method according to the nature of the area and its verification.
(4) Performing detailed NDT of the part or assembly by a qualified and experienced NDT operator and many other related activities.
