There are over 20,000 turbine helicopters used by civil and governmental operators on a daily basis worldwide. Helicopters are among the most versatile and marketable aircraft types.
One key factor that makes them so appealing is their long useful lives. These rotorcrafts have a life expectancy of 30+ years, which makes knowing the predictive health of the major system components important.
Sentient Science specializes in using materials science to build physics-based models of components to provide fatigue life predictions over a helicopter asset’s lifespan. Sentient understands on a microstructural level how cracks initiate inside the material and propagate into pits or spalls, which will lead to failure. We use this data to provide life extension solutions.
Using Sentient Science’s DigitalClone Live software as a service (SaaS), an operator in the aerospace/helicopter industry can identify the assets most likely to fail first using a rolling forecast, and take preventative maintenance action to extend its life expectancy.
One way to do this is to evaluate and determine if the right applications and the right combinations are being used to ensure the longest possible life. The ability to compare suppliers and mitigate the impact of long lead times on parts can significantly impact revenues. In the wind industry, for example, operators effectively utilizing DigitalClone Live for Operators have seen reductions in their levelized cost of energy and increases in their revenue. It’s evident by the explosive growth Sentient has seen from 2015-2016, growing from 5,000 to 16,000+ wind turbine assets under contract in one year’s time.
Sentient’s General Manager for Aerospace Jason Rios is currently at the HAI HELI Expo in Louisville, KY. If you are at the show and want to learn more about DigitalClone, reach him at jrios@sentientscience.com