Digital twin-based analysis of volumetric error mapping procedures

The evaluation of the volumetric accuracy of a machine tool is an open challenge in the industry, and a wide variety of technical solutions are available in the market and at research level. All solutions have advantages and disadvantages concerning which errors can be measured, the achievable uncertainty, the ease of implementation, possibility of machine integration and automation, the equipment cost and the machine occupation time, and it is not always straightforward which option to choose for each application. The need to ensure accuracy during the whole lifetime of the machine and the availability of monitoring systems developed following the Industry 4.0 trend are pushing the development of measurement systems that can be integrated in the machine to perform semi-automatic verification procedures that can be performed frequently by the machine user to monitor the condition of the machine. Calibrated artefact based calibration and verification solutions have an advantage in this field over laser based solutions in terms of cost and feasibility of machine integration, but they need to be optimized for each machine and customer requirements to achieve the required calibration uncertainty and minimize machine occupation time.This paper introduces a digital twin-based methodology to simulate all relevant effects in an artefact-based machine tool calibration procedure, from the machine itself with its expected error ranges, to the artefact geometry and uncertainty, artefact positions in the workspace, probe uncertainty, compensation model, etc. By parameterizing all relevant variables in the design of the calibration procedure, this simulation methodology can be used to analyse the effect of each design variable on the error mapping uncertainty, which is of great help in adapting the procedure to each specific machine and user requirements. The simulation methodology and the analysis possibilities are illustrated by applying it on a 3-axis milling machine tool.     

Photophysical investigation of the formation of defect levels in P doped ZnO thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) offers a major disadvantage of asymmetry doping in terms of reliability, stability, and reproducibility of p-type doping, which is the main hindrance in realization of optoelectronic devices. The problem is even more complicated due to formation of various native defects in unintentionally doped n-type ZnO. The realization of p-type conductivity in doped ZnO requires an in-depth understanding of the formation of an effective shallow acceptor, as well as donor-acceptor compensation. Photophysical properties such as photoconductivity along with photoluminescence (PL) studies have unprecedentedly and effectively been utilized in this work to monitor the evolution of various in-gap defects. Phosphorus (P) doped ZnO thin films have been grown by RF magnetron sputtering under various Ar to O₂ gas ratios to investigate the effect of O₂ on the donor-acceptor compensation by comprehensive photoconductivity measurements supported by the PL studies. Initial elemental analyses indicate presence of abundant zinc vacancies (V_Zn) in O-rich ambience. The results predict that P sits in the zinc (Zn) site rather than the oxygen (O) site causing the formation of P_Zn–2V_Zn acceptor-like defects, which compensates the donor defects in P doped ZnO films. Photocurrent spectra uniquely reveal presence of more oxygen vacancies (V_O) defects states in lower O₂ flow, which gets compensated with an increase in the O₂ flow. Successive photocurrent transients indicate probable presence of more V_O in the films grown with lower O₂ flow and more V_Zn in higher O₂ flow. Overall the photosensitivity measurements clearly present that O-rich ambience expedites the formation of acceptor defects which are compensated, thereby lowering the dark current and enhancing the ultraviolet photosensitivity.     

A PV installation framework concerning electricity variable rates

This paper assesses building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installation parameters based on the profit generated by a photovoltaic system. It takes into consideration a home building case study and it investigates its monthly energy demand based on a specific location and a typical occupancy. The capability of a photovoltaic (PV) system to generate more profit occurs when solar intensity is maximum while the electric energy price is at its highest rate. The paper traces a framework that encompasses different aspects such as energy demand, energy price, and solar intensity. This framework identifies profit alternatives according to different installation parameters. A tool that predicts a PV installation hourly electric energy production is developed. The profit generated is simulated for home buildings located in Beirut (Lebanon) and Xihua (China), both at 33.8° latitude north. The paper highlights a new approach for BIPV installations, taking into account weather conditions, energy demand, and electric energy utility rates.     

水力旋冲钻井工具破岩影响因素模拟及应用

常规的冲击钻井工具不能满足井眼轨迹控制要求、使用寿命有限、缓解脱压不显著等问题,影响了在定向井钻井中的推广应用。建立ø215.9 mm PDC钻头和岩石的有限元模型,分析钻井参数对破岩效率的影响规律,结果表明:冲击频率为17.5 Hz和35 Hz时,破岩效率最优; 破岩效率随钻压增大而增加,而后变化逐渐平缓; 破岩效率随钻头转速增大而增加; 破岩效率随冲击载荷的增加变化平缓。据此研制了新型水力旋冲钻井工具。现场试验表明,该工具符合定向水平井“一趟钻”工艺要求,使机械钻速提高56%,使用寿命达150 h,MWD信号正常。     

Local toolpath smoothing for five-axis machine tools

When five axis CNC machine tools follow series linear toolpath segments, the drives experience velocity, acceleration and jerk discontinuities at the block transition points. The discontinuities result in fluctuations on machine tool motions which lead to poor surface quality. This paper proposes to insert quintic and septic micro-splines for the tool tip and tool-orientation, respectively, at the adjacent linear toolpath segments. Optimal control points are calculated for position and orientation splines to achieve C³ continuity at the junctions while respecting user-defined tolerance limits. The geometrically smoothed corners are traveled at a smoothly varying feed with cubic acceleration trajectory profile. The proposed method is experimentally demonstrated to show improvements in motion smoothness and tracking accuracy in five-axis machining of free-form surfaces found in dies, molds and aerospace parts.     

Friction compensation controller for load varying machine tool feed drive

The load applied to a machine tool feed drive changes during the machining process as material is removed. This load change alters the Coulomb friction of the feed drive. Because Coulomb friction accounts for a large part of the total friction the friction compensation control accuracy of the feed drives is limited if this nonlinear change in the applied load is not considered. This paper presents a new friction compensation method that estimates the machine tool load in real time and considers its effect on friction characteristics. A friction observer based on a Kalman filter with load estimation is proposed for friction compensation control considering the applied load change. A specially designed feed drive testbed that enables the applied load to be modified easily was constructed for experimental verification. Control performance and friction estimation accuracy are demonstrated experimentally using the testbed.     

Adaptive compensation of persistent actuator failures of nonlinear systems

In this article, adaptive compensation designs are developed for nonlinear systems with uncertainties from the system functions and persistent actuator failures of characterizations that (i) some unknown system inputs are stuck at some unknown fixed or varying values at unknown time instants and (ii) the failure pattern always switches from one to another and the switching does not stop. Such a controlled plant is described by an uncertain time-varying nonlinear system, and some robust adaptive feedback linearization based failure compensation results are studied for closed-loop system stabilization and bounded output tracking for some specific conditions. To improve the tracking performance in the presence of persistent actuator failures, a new adaptive control scheme is developed, using the failure indicator function which contains the failure pattern and failure time in the formulation. Detailed stability and tracking performance are shown. Simulation results are shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive actuator failure compensation method.     

Design and validation of robotic bionic eye with multiple flexible ropes parallel mechanism inspired by oculomotor law

Producing a stable and agile bionic eye for visual image acquisition in robotics is a challenging task. In this paper, we design a bionic eye with mirror-symmetric distribution and cross-connection of flexible ropes. This mechanism is based on oculomotor law and the physiological structure of the extraocular muscles (EOMs). Specifically, the basic structural parameters are determined by Listing’s law, and the unique connection of the flexible ropes can realize the functions of the recti and oblique muscles. Furthermore, to mimic the trochlea structure, a pulley mechanism is constructed to permit the free movement of the flexible ropes. Through simulation and physical experiments, it is demonstrated that the bionic eye mechanism can move with agility under the structural parameters. The experimental results indicate that the proposed bionic eye mechanism has a superior motion accuracy of 2.798 mm, which is 6.7% of the maximum motion distance, and the repeatable accuracy of the mechanism can up to 0.210 mm.     

Improving weld formability by a novel dual-rotation bobbin tool friction stir welding

A novel dual-rotation bobbin tool friction stir welding (DBT-FSW) was developed, in which the upper shoulder (US) and lower shoulder (LS) have different rotational speeds. This process was tried to weld 3.2 mm thick aluminum-lithium alloy sheets. The metallographic analysis and torque measurement were carried out to characterize the weld formability. Experimental results show that compared to conventional bobbin tool friction stir welding, the DBT-FSW has an excellent process stability, and can produce the defect-free joints in a wider range of welding parameters. These can be attributed to the significant improvement of material flow caused by the formation of a staggered layer structure and the unbalanced force between the US and LS during the DBT-FSW process.     

基于振动实测的非均质地层钻头失效分析与对策

四川盆地作为国内页岩气开发的重点区域,通过近几年的不断攻关和实践,机械钻速得到了提高,但由于受地层复杂、可钻性差、非均质性强等地质因素的影响,导致井下钻柱系统不良振动剧烈,容易出现钻头损坏严重、钻速较低等问题,严重影响了钻井时效。为了解决上述难题,以该盆地涪陵工区上二叠统龙潭组—中二叠统茅口组为例,采用井下振动高频测量工具的实测手段,测量了钻头—钻柱系统的动态振动加速度参数,结合地层的岩性和矿物组分分析,研究钻头失效原因与对策,并开展了现场试验。研究结果表明:①在非均质地层中钻进的钻头—钻柱系统产生了大于40 m/s~2的高幅值瞬时冲击振动,高幅值的瞬时冲击是导致钻头先期失效的主要原因;②提出了抑制高幅值的瞬时冲击振动采用"减振+增压"工具组合和避免井下工具共振的钻井参数;③采用钻井新参数的试验井比邻井的高幅值瞬时振动降低了17%,单只钻头进尺增加24%,钻头工作环境得到了较大的改善,钻头使用数量减少。结论认为,该研究成果能够有效地改善钻头—钻柱系统的振动状态,有利于达成延长钻头使用寿命的目标。