Highly Efficient Selective Assembly Method of Horizontal Stabilizer based on Metamodeling and Particle Swarm Optimization

Abstract

Selective assembly is a cost-effective approach for reducing the overall variation and thus improving the quality of an assembled product. Traditional selective assembly requires quite a large number of finite-element analysis (FEA) runs and consequently is rather time consuming when considering every part’s deviations. The paper presents the highly efficient selective assembly method that assists operators in horizontal stabilizer assembling while considering the parts’ fabrication deviations. Metamodeling is employed to build the input–output functions from FEA results. The hybrid metamodel consisted of four metamodels and is constructed to express the mapping relationship between fabrication deviations and assembly distortions. Cross validation of metamodels is conducted using 27 FEA simulations. The quantitative selective assembly suggestion, that is, the selective assembly table, is obtained using the hybrid metamodels and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The optimal assembly of the trailing edge is considered to illustrate the computational efficiency of the method. The results have shown that the proposed method preserve final assembly precision with high efficiency. The selective assembly procedures outlined in this paper will enhance the understanding of the compliant components deformation in assembly and help systematically improving the precision control efficiency in the civil aircraft industry.