Aviation Health Conference Cabin Fume Engineering: - Isolating - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Aviation Health Conference Cabin Fume

“Engineering:-Isolating Emission Sources”

Dr Ian Hosegood & John Ehret

3rd October 2017

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Precautionary principle

• A strategy to cope with possible risks where scientific understanding is yet

incomplete

• Where there is a risk of a morally unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible

but uncertain

• The judgement of plausibility should be grounded in scientific analysis. Analysis

should be ongoing so that chosen actions are subject to review. Uncertainty may apply to, but need not be limited to, causality or the bounds of the possible harm. Unesco 2005 “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”

Carl Sagan, Astronomer

Media and propagand a Education

• n topic

Union activity Engineering Practices Fleet APU & Engine health Extraneous sources

• dour

Hazards / Predispositions Consequences CAQE– Risk Management Control Opportunities

Manufacturer and engineering controls Education and administrative controls Medical Triage and Response

Management System

Health Risk Communication Data analysis and continuous improvement Workplace culture Real & perceived air quality events Personal Factors

Elimination

Worker beliefs and health

CAQE

medical and legal risk

Customer impact

Ill worker Repeat event

• n tail

Operational and Engineering Response

Crew health and welfare response On time performance

Prevention Identification Management

Increased Costs

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Medical Response to Cabin Air Quality Events (CAQEs)

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Background

1. Trained as an Industrial Chemist with Unilever and ICI 2. Associate Member of the Australian Institute of Occ Hygienists 3. Joined QF in 2001 4. Spent 5 Years in Freight 5. Short time in Cabin Crew and about 10 years in Engineering as Mgr Ground Safety & Environment 6. Now with QF Group Safety Services

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Today

• To share our work in Cabin Fume / ECS Fault Isolation using Air

Quality Instrumentation

• Does not alter any license or certification requirements
• Is only used to identify a higher probability area upon which to focus

engineering resources

• Provides better outcomes for crews

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Cabin Air Quality

1 Aircraft Cabin Fume continues to be problematic with articles in the media, legal Cases, potential health effects, diversions & sometimes lengthy maintenance time as AOG. 2 The Techniques we have developed use science to support odour detection and isolation, to enable timely repairs. 3 The data obtained can also provide additional support after defect rectification prior to Return To Service.

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Benefits

• Can help confirm the presence or absence of a defect
• Allows for the respiratory protection of Engineers Required to wear

an Organic Vapour Mask or Oxygen for both trouble shooting and pack burns whilst trouble shooting the aircraft ECS.

• Reduces the probability of a repeat event after RTS, providing an

increased level of confidence that the defect was rectified benefiting

• ur crews

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Fume Reports

Cabin Air Quality Events (smoke, fume & smell) tend to fall into 4 categories 1 Major Failures APU / Engine Defect with obvious evidence 2 Non-ECS Source identified as food related, oven elements, toast, rotting food, plastic or paper in ovens or those categorized as biological in nature. 3 Fume Report Nil Fault Found 4 Fume Report Minor or Transient defect causing smells and odours which can be difficult to isolate and confirm despite extended “other

• perator A330 > 1 week as AOG”

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Current Challenges with Fault Isolation Manuals (FIMs)

Unless the fault is obvious, FIMs often require engineers / mechanics to use their sense of smell to detect the origin of the

• dour.

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Odour Fatigue (Olfactory Fatigue)

Humans tend to loose the ability to discriminate the strength and type of

• dour after they are exposed for a period of time due to sensory

adaptation for example, during ground runs or pack burns.

Other Issues can include:- 1 The persons’ sex. Females have a heightened sense of smell which varies with time when compared to males 2 Whether they are smokers 3 Current health status e.g. head cold

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Human Bias & Priming

Priming Can you smell something (Oil ?) Bias A run of APU issues may drive a predisposition to focus on APU troubleshooting.

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Air Quality Instrumentation - Overcoming Human Bias & Priming

The use of Air Quality Instrumentation allows the collection of unbiased, data to support the decision making process regarding fault isolation and defect rectification.

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Air Quality Monitoring Parameters

Ultrafine Particles (Combustion/ Decomposition Products) Volatile Organics

(Fuel Oil)

CO2

(Combustion Products)

CO

(Combustion Products)

Atmospheric Pressure Temperature Relative Humidity

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The Aluminium Case

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Inside the Box

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Radiated Emissions

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Humans vs Instruments

B767 – Repeat Issues with fwd Lav smoke detector activating inflight NO ODOURS REPORTED Ground Runs were relatively inconclusive. Inflight monitoring was decided SYD – MEL Return

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Electrical Odour - Isolation of Cockpit Window Heater Fault

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Non – Systematic Approach but Data Collected

30th June, defect advised to be most likely from the # 2 Engine at high throttle settings

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Ground Run Protocol Twin Engine Ground Run ≈ 47 Minutes

Systematic Evaluation of the ECS with Air Quality Instruments 1 APU 2 Engine # 1 3 Engine # 2

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VH-VGO – Odour Fatigue Nov 2012

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VH-OQF A380

.

 In an out of Service 5 Times - 3 significant & 1 Transit Delay in Dallas & 1 Air Quality Ground Run  It involved 20 staff, for an 3 x 12 hr shifts in Sydney.  All planned work was deferred.  The aircraft then operated to with an approx. 2 hr delay before returning to Sydney with another tech log entry related to cabin fume  Numerous Components Swapped out During these Periods

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VH-OQF Ground Run

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Benefits of Improved Defect Isolation Ability

• Minimises the impact of personal bias and priming and the time taken to isolate non–
• bvious ECS defects.
• The Air Quality Data is available to Support Targeted Maintenance Decisions.
• Can support the decision making process for RTS , post maintenance or when Nil Fault

Found.

• Improved Engineering staff safety - Breathing protection which ensures their health is

protected and final odour check occurs with a clean palate

• Reduced costs associated with unproductive AOG troubleshooting
• Improved outcomes for aircraft crews on subsequent sectors

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Future State

Continue to refine our processes as we deliver this capability across the QF Group. Investigate whether we can utilise these techniques further as we move increasingly towards a Predictive approach.

Higher Reliability Staff / PAX Safety Lower Costs

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Thank You

Questions ?

John Ehret

jehret@qantas.com.au

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APU

Twin Engined Jet* - Ground Run Protocol for Targeting Fume Source

Insert Aircraft Registration Number Date Bleed Air Source Target Hold Time in minutes Actual UTC Time Change was Selected Field Notes / Comments Start APU and feed both packs with APU Bleed Air - Recirc Fans Off

APU

1 Change APU Bleed Air to #1 Pack ON #2 Pack Off

APU

1 Change APU Bleed Air to #1 Pack OFF #2 Pack On

APU

1 Change APU Bleed Air to Feed Both Packs

APU

1 Call for full cabin heat (trim valves open) Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft

APU

1 Reset cabin temp to lowest temp position (Trim valves closed) Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft

APU

1 Reset Cabin Temp to Mid Point Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft

APU

1 Recirc fans on

APU

1 Recirc Fans Off

APU

1

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Each Engine - 16 minutes after engine start

Start #1 Engine then allow engine to settle. 1 Start #2 Engine then allow engine to settle. 1 Change Bleed air from APU to #1 Engine and feed both packs Eng #1 1 #1 Engine, Throttle up to just below switchover and hold Eng #1 1 #1 Engine Increase Throttle as high as conditions permit Eng #1 1 #1 Engine, Throttle to Idle Eng #1 1 Change Bleed from feeding both packs to bleed air feeding #1 pack (Pack 2 Off) Eng #1 1 #1 Engine, Throttle up to just below switchover and hold Eng #1 1 #1 Engine Increase Throttle as high as conditions permit Eng #1 1 #1 Engine, Throttle to Idle Eng #1 1 Change Bleed from feeding #1 Pack to bleed air feeding #2 pack (Pack 1 Off) Eng #1 1 #1 Engine, Throttle up to just below switchover and hold Eng #1 1 #1 Engine Increase Throttle as high as conditions permit Eng #1 1 #1 Engine, Throttle to Idle Eng #1 1 Change Bleed to Both Packs ON End #1 1

Call for full cabin heat (trim valves open) Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft

Eng #1 1

Reset cabin temp to lowest temp position (Trim valves closed) Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft

Eng #1 1

Reset Cabin Temp to Mid Point Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft

Eng #1 1