Generation of possible multiple components disassembly sequence for maintenance using a disassembly constraint graph

Relatively few systems are designed to operate without maintenance of any kind. For most systems, it is apparent that more than one component may need to be replaced at the same time during maintenance. Hence, a disassembly sequence that can provide access to multiple components becomes necessary for cost reduction and productivity improvement. This work presents a novel representation scheme known as disassembly constraint graph (DCG), which can be used to generate possible disassembly sequences for maintenance. A case study on the maintenance of a pump assembly used in a petrol chemical installation is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the DCG in dealing with multiple components maintenance. The details of the DCG and the case study are presented.