Control system designing for correcting wing–fuselage assembly deformation of a large aircraft

Abstract

Purpose In aircraft wing–fuselage assembly, the distributed multi-point support layout of positioners causes fuselage to deform under gravity load, leading to assembly difficulty and assembly stress. This paper aims to propose a hybrid force position control method to balance aerodynamic shape accuracy and deformation of assembly area, thereby correcting assembly deformation and reducing assembly stress. Design/methodology/approach Force and position control axes of positioners are selected based on screw theory and ellipsoid method. The position-control axes follow the posture trajectory to align the fuselage posture. To exert force on the fuselage and correct the deformations, the force-control axes follow the contact force derived by using orthogonal experiments and partial least squares regression (PLSR). Finite element simulation and one-dimension deformation correction experiment are conducted to verify the validity of this method. Findings Simulation results indicate that hybrid force position control method can correct assembly deformation and improve the wing–fuselage assembly quality significantly. Experiment on specimen verifies the effect of this method indirectly. Originality/value The proposed method gives a solution to solve the deformation problem during aircraft wing-fuselage assembly, thereby reducing assembly stress and improving assembly quality.