Robotic compliant assembly for complex-shaped composite aircraft frame based on Gaussian process considering uncertainties

Robots are finding increasing application in aircraft composite structure assembly due to their flexibility and the growing demand of aircraft manufacturers for high production rates.The contact force of the composite frame in a robotic assembly of the aircraft composite fuselage panel can hardly be controlled due to the multi-surface variable contact stiffness caused by compliance and complex shape with multiple mating surfaces.The paper proposes a robotic assembly system for the aircraft composite fuselage frame with a compliant contact force control strategy using the Gaussian process surrogate model.First,a robotic assembly system is introduced,and the global coordinate system transformation model is built.Then,a compliant force control architecture is designed to generate the desired output force.Subsequently,a Gaussian process surrogate model with uncertainties is utilized to model the complicated relationship between the robot’s output force and the normal contact force acting on the mating surface of the composite frame.Furthermore,an optimal contact force control strategy is implemented to improve the contact quality.Finally,an experiment demonstrates that the proposed methodology can ensure that the contact force on each surface is within the limit of the engineering specification and uniformly distributed,improving the quality compared to the traditional assembly process.

Study on frictional behavior of SiC_(f)/SiC composite clad tube clamping condition under nuclear irradiation

Silicon carbide fiber reinforced silicon carbide matrix(SiC_(f)/SiC)composite is the key cladding material of nuclear fuel,which determines the safety and reliability of nuclear fuel storage and transportation.The replacement of its storage and transportation scenario needs to be completed by the manipulator,but the application of SiC_(f)/SiC wear,fracture,and nuclear leakage in the snatching process of brittle-flexible-rigid contact in the irradiation environment has been seriously restricted due to unclear understanding of the damage mechanism.Therefore,the effects of irradiation dose and clamping load on the friction characteristics of the contact interface between SiC_(f)/SiC clad tube are studied in this paper,and the effects of irradiation parameters and clamping force on the static friction coefficient of the contact interface between the clad tube and flexible nitrile are obtained.Based on the Greenwood-Williamson tribological model,a numerical model of the shape and structure of the contact micro-convex at the micro-scale of the clamping interface is constructed by introducing the multi-surface integral,and finally verified by experiments.The research results show that there is a unique“Irradiation suppression zone”under the clamping condition of SiC_(f)/SiC cladding tube under the nuclear irradiation environment,and the growth of static friction coefficient slows down until stagnates after irradiation reaches a certain extent(600 kGy),and there will be a decline when the irradiation dose continues to increase,among which the clamping force of 15.2 N within the irradiation interval of 1,000 kGy can meet the safety of nuclear environment operation.The results of this paper can provide an important theoretical basis and application guidance for the safe operation of SiC_(f)/SiC cladding tubes in the storage and transportation clamping process.