Concept Development for Maintenance Cost Estimation of More-electric Aircraft On-board System Architectures

Modern aviation is undergoing a transformation driven by innovative aircraft configurations, particularly More-Electric Aircraft, propelled by technological advancements and a pursuit of greater efficiency. This paradigm shift carries significant implications for maintenance costs. Early in the design process, it is essential to estimate future costs, including maintenance cost, to best decide which concepts are the most promising from a cost perspective. As the project progresses and design details become more defined, the impact of potential changes on costs might become substantial. Therefore, having cost estimates available in the early design phases helps mitigate the impact of configuration changes on overall expenses. However, there is a lack of established methods for estimating the variations in maintenance costs between conventional and more-electric architectures. Therefore, this study aims to systematically estimate the maintenance cost for the difference of MEA compared to conventional architectures, which can be applied during the initial phases of aircraft design when little is finalized, and data are limited. To address this, a methodology is developed with a primary focus on eliminating maintenance costs associated with existing systems that are either removed or replaced when transitioning from conventional to more-electric configurations. In addition, it establishes a general approach for incorporating maintenance contributions for new components that will replace the conventional ones. This process carefully considers their direct correlation to component reliability. It also relies on reasonable assumptions that allow the use of an analogy-based method that correlates the new systems to existing, similar solutions. By using this approach, the precision and accuracy of the cost estimates associated with the maintenance of innovative aircraft configurations will be significantly improved. Looking forward, this study's adaptable methodology offers opportunities for future research. It can be further adjusted and extended to estimate maintenance costs based on changes to individual components within any aircraft subsystem, accommodating a wide range of potential design variations. This will provide a more comprehensive understanding of maintenance cost dynamics in innovative aircraft configurations, contributing to the ongoing evolution of the aviation industry.