Gas Path Debris Monitoring for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Propulsion System PHM

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) prognostics and health management (PHM) program is redefining the baseline for aircraft PHM. The objective is a management system that enables the F-35 aircraft to identify and report its own maintenance requirements, maximising aircraft use and minimising logistical overhead. JSF PHM offers aircraft operational cost and safety benefits above and beyond any air-vehicle strategy currently employed. For the propulsion system, the required input to F-35 PHM is achieved through monitoring a range of engine subsystems, using both mature and new technologies, and combining the information to form the engine health status and prognosis. The propulsion system PHM sensor suite incorporates several emerging technologies, including gas path debris monitoring. This paper provides a top-level description of the debris monitoring technology, its implementation and integration for F-35 and the development route planned to achieve the maturity level required for initial service release