CH-47 Upper Boost Actuator Plating Process Development
Elevate Systems successfully supported the U.S. Army in addressing sustainment challenges for the CH-47 Chinook Upper Boost Actuator (UBA) by developing an advanced overhaul, repair, and plating process to extend the service life of these critical components. The CH-47 UBA is a dual-acting hydraulic cylinder that provides mechanical assistance to the helicopter's upper flight controls. However, due to prolonged use and wear, the chromium plating on the inner diameter (ID) of the Outer Cylinders was failing inspection, significantly impacting operational readiness.
To mitigate this issue, Elevate Systems reverse engineered the Outer Cylinder assemblies, developed digital twins, and conducted an extensive technical evaluation to determine the most effective refurbishment process. Our team identified that the OEM could not provide a timely or cost-effective solution, which required us to design, test, and qualify a new chromium plating repair process to restore these components to full mission capability.
Our efforts included the development of a comprehensive teardown, inspection, and re-plating procedure, ensuring that the repair process met all dimensional tolerances, material specifications, and structural integrity requirements. The overhaul process was designed to be repeatable and scalable, allowing the Army to conduct future repairs without reliance on a single-source OEM solution. Elevate Systems further qualified a new plating source that could support the repair and sustainment of these actuators, ensuring long-term availability.
By leveraging state-of-the-art metrology, digital modeling, and manufacturing expertise, Elevate Systems provided the Army with a validated, cost-effective, and repeatable overhaul solution, significantly reducing lead times and ensuring continued sustainment of the CH-47 Chinook fleet. This project is a testament to our ability to solve complex sustainment challenges, mitigate obsolescence risks, and deliver innovative engineering solutions to our military partners.
