Fairing sections
AssigneeUniversity of Bath
InventorsJames F. Henderson, Philip J. Wingham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fairing 13 for an element is made up of body sections 17. Each body section 17 comprises a moulded plastics body which has an open recess or hollow 18 along its leading edge 19. The body section 17 becomes slightly wider to the rear of the leading edge 19 and then increasingly rapidly decreases inside along a smooth curve until reaching a trailing portion 20 which thins, at a much slower rate, to edge 21. The mouth of the hollow 18 is defined by lips 23 which are dimensioned to straddle a trailing portion of the cable 12. In use, the body section 17 automatically aligns along the line of movement of the cable 12 and the body is held against the cable. The arrangement is such that the body sections will compensate for sidewards forces or drags.
Claims16
Fairing section comprising a leading edge portion having a pair of forwardly projecting lips and a recess defined between the lips for receiving a part of a cylindrical element so that the lips straddle the element, a trailing edge and a body interconnecting said leading edge portion and said trailing edge;
- said body comprising a pair of oppositely disposed, continuous surfaces each being initially convex and then concave as they extend from the leading edge portion to the trailing edge such that they approach each other as they approach the trailing edge.
Fairing section comprising a leading edge portion having spaced forwardly projecting lips, a trailing edge and a body interconnecting said leading edge portion and said trailing edge;
- said leading edge portion comprising two spaced ends and an intermediate portion interconnecting the spaced ends, each spaced end having at least one V-shaped engagement member for engaging a cylindrical element to space said intermediate portion a substantial distance from said cylindrical element thereby to define a flow passage between said fairing section and said cylindrical element, intermediate opposite ends and to hold the lips so that they straddle a part of the cylindrical element.
In an apparatus comprising a generally cylindrical element for being pulled through a fluid or for being subjected to fluid flow, a fairing section comprising a body and means for pivotally mounting the body on the element to the rear of the element, the body having a leading elongate edge portion that terminates forwardly in a pair of forwardly directed spaced lips having forwardly directed free edges, said lips extending lengthwise on the leading edge portion and defining a substantially concave recess between the lips for receiving a trailing part of the element so that the lips straddle the trailing part of the element, and engagement means for locating the body on the element to space the leading edge portion, and hence the lips, from the element to define a passage between the element and the leading edge portion extending from one lip through the recess to the other lip at least when the body lies at an angle to the direction of flow, so that fluid can flow through the passage.
In an apparatus comprising a generally cylindrical element for being pulled through a fluid or for being subjected to fluid flow, a fairing section comprising a body having a leading edge portion that terminates forwardly in a pair of forwardly directed spaced lips having forwardly directed free edges, means for mounting the body on the element to the rear of the element such that the lips straddle the element to define with the element an inner space along the portion with openings to the space between the lips and the element, the means for mounting further retaining the openings in an area of low pressure in the flow to communicate that low pressure to the space and thereby hold the body against the element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.