A Study on the Robust Optimal Supporting Positions of TFT-LCD Glass Panel

In this paper we present robust optimal supporting positions for large glass panels used for TFT-LCD monitors when they are stored in a cassette during manufacturing process. The criterion taken is to minimize their maximum deflection. Since they are supported by some supports and have large deformations, contact analysis with a geometrically nonlinear effect is necessary. In addition, the center of a panel can not be positioned exactly as intended and should be considered as uncertainties. To take into account of these effects, the mean and the standard deviation of system response functions, particularly the deflection of the panels, need be calculated. A function approximation moment method (FAMM) is utilized to estimate them. It is a special type of response surface methodology for structural reliability analysis and can be efficiently used to estimate the two stochastic properties, that is, the system performance and the perturbations caused by uncertainties. For a design purpose, they are to be minimized simultaneously by some optimization algorithm to obtain robust optimal supporting positions.