New F-35[B] mod facility brings strategic capability to FRCE

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by spazsinbad » 20 Aug 2019, 21:02

New F-35 modification facility brings strategic capability to FRCE
20 Aug 2019 NavAir

"MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. -- A recently-completed facility will bring a new strategic capability to Fleet Readiness Center East and the F-35B Lightning aircraft line next year. When the new F-35 laser shock peening facility is fully operational in 2020, FRCE will be one of two sites in the world that will use laser technology to strengthen F-35 structural components.

Construction of the $6 million facility wrapped in July, and the contractor providing the laser shock peening service will take occupancy in early spring, said Donald Jeter, portfolio manager of the F-35 aircraft line at FRCE. Under that timeline, the first F-35 aircraft inducted for laser shock peening would arrive in June to undergo the validation and verification process, and then the depot will begin work on the remainder of the F-35 fleet that requires the laser shock peening modification.

“This facility is a big get for Fleet Readiness Center East,” Jeter said. “It’s very exciting. Being able to perform this laser shock peening process adds a huge strategic capability to our depot. With it, we’ll be able to provide a critical support element to the F-35B program and act as a force multiplier for the fleet and the warfighter.”

The 16,000-square-foot facility comprises two bays, where the actual laser shock peening process will take place, and a connected area that will house the laser generator. The state-of-the-art laser shock peening process will allow FRCE to conduct heavy structure modifications that will strengthen areas of the F-35’s airframe without disassembling the entire aircraft, said Matthew Crisp, the F-35 Joint Program Office site lead at FRCE.

The process strengthens designs without adding additional metal or weight, which increases the aircraft’s life and reduces maintenance costs. It has been used on the F-22 Raptor and in manufacturing aircraft components including engine blades, Crisp said, but has never been employed for the F-35. Now, FRCE will use the technology to help Marine Corps aircraft reach their full life limit.

Aircraft maintenance professionals at FRCE will conduct prep work and some structural modification on the F-35s inducted into the depot, then turn them over to the contractor running the laser shock peening operations. The contractor will complete the process to strengthen the bulkheads and airframes, and FRCE will put the jets back together, perform all the flight test functions and get them back out to the fleet, Jeter said. The end result is aircraft that have been reinforced without adding additional weight, which would reduce the fighter’s capabilities by limiting its fuel or weapons carrying capacity.

Shot peening is not a new process, Crisp said, but laser shock peening is unique in that it produces a uniform result across the surface being treated. In laser shock peening, the surface of the media is first coated with an ablative layer and covered with a water tamping layer. A high-energy laser beam is fired at the metal, which creates an area of plasma on the metal’s surface. The impact creates a shock wave, which travels through the metal, and compressive residual stresses remain. This compression helps improve the metal’s damage tolerance, fatigue life and strength.

“(Shot peening) has been done for decades,” he explained. “It’s where you take a solid media, like glass beads or some kind of metal, and you hit the surface of an item – kind of like sandblasting. You just randomly throw it at the surface, and it creates all these surface dimples. What you get is a very inconsistent surface profile, because it’s not controlled.”

With laser shock peening, the process is very controlled, Crisp said.

“They create a laser beam that’s actually square, and the intensity is consistent across the entire laser beam – it’s the exact same at the very edge of the beam as it is in the middle,” he said. “They come up with a grid pattern and stack the squares up right beside each other, so the entire surface of the part is completely uniform. You don’t have the weak spots in between these areas that would then induce cracking later.”

Jeter said he expects laser shock peening to be a main focus of the F-35 line for the next four to five years. Once the first two aircraft have undergone the validation and verification process, it will be a sprint to the finish to complete modifications on the remainder of the F-35B fleet that requires this treatment.

“After that val/ver event, the aircraft will basically be nose-to-tail,” Crisp added. “We’ll completely fill every aircraft stall that’s here, and for the next five years, when one leaves another will come in. That’s critical, because this process has to be done on every single airplane that requires it.”

The workload does not include every F-35 ever produced, although it does include B and C models, and also encompasses F-35 aircraft owned by partner nations. FRCE will focus solely on the B variant, while Ogden Air Force Base in Utah will work on the F-35C models and take any F-35B overflow.

After the first round of laser shock peening modifications, what comes after that is still to be determined, Crisp said.

“I’m sure there will be some follow-on work,” he said. “And beyond the F-35 program, this is a little bit exciting, because this really is cutting-edge technology and we have it here at FRCE. I think maybe within the engineering community here, as people find out more about it, they may open additional discussions about how we could implement this on other aircraft lines. We might find a future capability we want to look at.”"

Photo: "Fleet Readiness Center East is the lead site for depot-level maintenance on the F-35B (short takeoff-vertical landing). A recently constructed laser shock peening facility will bring a new strategic capability to Fleet Readiness Center East and the F-35B Lightning aircraft line next year. When the new F-35 laser shock peening facility is fully operational in 2020, FRCE will be one of two sites in the world that will use laser technology to strengthen F-35 structural components. (FRCE file photo)" http://www.navair.navy.mil/sites/g/file ... 7-1001.jpg


Source: http://www.navair.navy.mil/news/New-F-3 ... 02019-0732
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by Corsair1963 » 21 Aug 2019, 00:15

Did I miss the other site???


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by magitsu » 21 Aug 2019, 11:26



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by aussiebloke » 21 Aug 2019, 16:29

Some more background here:
Structural Certification of Laser Peening for F-35 Safety Critical Bulkheads Pete Caruso, Jacklyn Pierce, Stephanie McMillan, Phil Gross and Matthew Edghill, Lockheed Martin Corporation – F-35 Program
The effect of laser shock peening (LSP) (Figures 9.8-6 and 9.8-7) in the crack initiation and damage tolerance behavior of 7085- T7452 forgings was investigated. The F-35B (STOVL variant)(Figure 9.8-8) utilizes very large 7085-T7452 forgings for wing carry-thru bulkheads that have experienced fatigue cracking prior to one lifetime of full-scale durability testing (Figures 9.8-9 and 9.8-10). Additional fatigue cracking has occurred between one and two lifetimes of cycling, which requires repair. A comprehensive structural certification plan has been developed to qualify laser shock peening (LSP) to restore F-35B aircraft service life for fielded aircraft and apply in new production. LSP lessons learned during qualification of safety critical titanium bulkheads on legacy aircraft have been applied to reduce the certification risk. The qualification test program will certify F-35B location specific LSP applications. An update to the progress of the Phase 1 LSP process characterization, (Figure 9.8-11) Phase 2 element level durability and damage tolerance (Figures 9.8-12 and 9.8-13), and Phase 3 subcomponent durability test results is presented (Figure 9.8-14). The Phase 3 critical baseline durability tests to match the full- scale durability test are described. Marker band requirements applied in the test spectrum were critical in rapidly developing test results. Test procedures have continually improved to develop LSP durability and damage tolerance test results. Lessons learned from the LSP certification testing shall be applied to improve the planned LSP qualification program for the F-35C variant.


Section 9.8.2 of https://icaf2019.org/conf-data/icaf2019 ... sowany.pdf


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by spazsinbad » 20 Feb 2021, 12:29

FRCE inducts first F-35B for laser peening modification [long article not all of it relevant to the F-35B process]
19 Feb 2021 NavAir

"MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. -- Fleet Readiness Center East marked a milestone with the induction of the first F-35B Lightning II aircraft to undergo laser peening modifications, and leaders anticipate the new workload will keep the facility engaged for the next several years. During this time, experts will apply the high-tech procedure to select F-35B aircraft flown by the United States Marine Corps, strengthening the frames of the short takeoff-vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 Lightning II and helping the aircraft reach its full life limit.

The laser peening process takes place in a new, 16,000-square-foot facility that comprises two bays and a connected area housing the laser generator. The purpose-built, $6 million facility gives FRCE a capability for F-35 aircraft that will exist at only one other location in the world. The process, which has been utilized on the F-22 Raptor and in manufacturing aircraft components, uses high-energy laser pulses to strengthen materials without adding additional metal or weight, which results in increased aircraft lifespan and reduced maintenance costs....

...While not every F-35B requires the procedure, many do – which will keep the laser peening operation busy for quite some time....

...When an F-35B rolls in for laser peening modifications, FRCE’s aircraft maintenance professionals first work to disassemble the aircraft and remove the appropriate parts to allow access to the areas of the frame that need strengthening. Contractors with the company that developed and conducts the laser peening process take it from there.

“They elevate the airplane into the air, and then the robots take over once the contractors program the visit, which is what they call the procedure where they actually shoot the lasers at the airplane,” Rettenmair explained.

The contractor has installed and activated specially engineered equipment in the laser peening facility, and will use that equipment to treat locations on the aircraft’s bulkhead and airframe, said Brent Dane, director of laser technology for Curtiss-Wright Surface Technologies, which developed the process. Brand new bulkheads built into new F-35B aircraft receive the same treatment at the company’s laser peening facility in California, so new F-35 fighters benefit from the same increase in performance and lifetime extension right off the assembly line, he added.

During laser peening, a high-energy laser beam is fired at the metal, which creates an area of plasma on the metal’s surface. The impact creates a shock wave, which travels through the metal, and compressive residual stresses remain. This compression helps improve the metal’s damage tolerance, fatigue life and strength, leading to a more durable product.

“It strengthens the base material without us having to go in and add additional material – which would increase the weight of the airplane, which is not a good option – or remove and replace these parts, which also isn’t really an option when the piece is integral to the structure of the aircraft,” Crisp said. “This procedure is a good solution to strengthen what’s already there.”

The end result is aircraft that have been reinforced without adding additional weight, which would reduce the fighter’s capabilities by limiting its fuel or weapons carrying capacity. Because of this, the laser peening procedure is well-suited to the treatment of safety critical components in military applications, Dane said. It provides increased reliability and life extension not available from any other surface treatment on the market today.

Once the contractor completes the laser peening procedure, the aircraft goes back to FRCE’s F-35 line for reassembly, just like all the other aircraft that come through the facility, Rettenmair explained. FRCE will put the jets back together, perform all the flight test functions and get them back out to the fleet...."

Source: https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/FRCE-i ... 92021-1152


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by spazsinbad » 01 Jan 2022, 16:39

FRCE completes verification of laser peening process
30 Dec 2021 NavAir

"MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERY[sic] [try CHERRY] POINT, N.C.--Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) marked a milestone in its support of the F-35B Lightning II aircraft when it successfully completed verification of the laser shock peening process and returned the first aircraft to undergo the procedure to the fleet.

Laser shock peening strengthens the aircraft’s frame without adding any additional material or weight, which would reduce its capability by limiting its fuel or weapons carrying capacity. The procedure helps extend the life expectancy of the fifth-generation F-35B fighter, which is the short takeoff-vertical landing (STOVL) variant flown by the U.S. Marine Corps. Verification of the process provides quality control by confirming it meets system-level requirements through a combination of inspection, analysis, demonstration and testing.

“The laser shock peening modification is essential to extending the life of the F-35B STOVL variant, and the ability to complete this procedure successfully allows FRC East to support this critical workload,” said FRCE Commanding Officer Col. Thomas A. Atkinson..... Brent Dane, director of laser technology at Curtiss-Wright, said the company is proud to be part of this milestone.

“Curtiss-Wright Surface Technology takes great pride in our contributions to returning the first laser peened F-35B to active service and we look forward to continued support of the F-35 fleet with this unique laser strengthening process,” he said. “With the ever growing applications of this technology to critical military assets, we are honored to contribute to our nation’s defense and to help guard the safety of the warfighter.”

Having the laser shock peening process verified means FRCE and its partners conducted the modification for the first time and was then troubleshot, streamlined and improved, said Wes Klor, overhaul and repair supervisor on the F-35 modification line at FRCE....

...The verification marks FRCE as the first and only facility in the world to capable of conducting the laser shock peening modification on an F-35 aircraft; a second facility, Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is scheduled to come online in the near future, and FRCE has served as a model for successful standup, Holder [Jeanie Holder, the F-35 Joint Program Office induction manager at FRCE] said....

Source: https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/FRCE-c ... 02021-1018



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