City Research Online

Abstract

The prosperity of aircraft transportation together with revolutionary promotion of composite components used in commercial aircraft pose enormous challenges to the aircraft composite assembly and repair (especially uncertainties associated with polymer process parameters control, barely visible defects and non-destructive inspection capability to inspect zero-thickness defects). Therefore, an industry solution owning merits on reliability and repeatability of assembly process is at high demand. Augmented Reality (AR), a human computer interaction technology, possesses its exclusive superiority on its capability of inflicting digital mock-up into physical environment. The above property of AR provides colossal opportunities to be utilised into industrial applications to contribute the realisation of automated, efficient, streamlined and reliable process and assembly. The current ongoing research aims at developing an AR System integrated into aircraft composite bonded assembly and repair as a guidance tool to instruct technicians’ repairing operation, mitigate human errors, and reduce duration of repair and assembly. Upon the accomplishment of the System, the researchers would aim to investigate the incorporation of machine learning and deep network algorithms to enable and significantly improve the interactions between the multitude of process parameters involved in the composites assembly control procedures, solely relying upon the AR geometric data. This will ultimately lead to dramatic reduction of sensors in aircraft assembly, mitigation of in-process analysis time, reduction of process and post-process inspection time, and a higher quality assembly. Stepped scarf composite repair embedded with soft composite patches was selected as the archetype to be brought into effect though hard patches were partially examined as well. The AR System has focused on composite patches assembly and vacuum bagging process to address the predicament of miscellaneous steps and fibre directions.

Publication Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects:	T Technology > TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
Departments:	School of Science & Technology > Engineering

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