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US 4,887,231 AGranted
Determination of turbine blade cross-sectional area
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsPhillip R. Ratliff, George A. Bises
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for determining a profile of cross-sectional areas of a turbine blade. The cross-sectional area between two selected points along the length of the blade is determined by calculating the changes in the buoyant force exerted upon the blade as the blade is immersed into a volume of water contained in a tank.
Claims6
A method of determining a profile of cross-sectional area of a three-dimensional body having a complex shape, comprising the steps of:
- immersing the body in a tank containing a volume of a static fluid, the body being immersed at a predetermined rate corresponding to a change in unit length of immersion per unit time, wherein said immersing step comprises the steps of:
- providing means for moving the body;
- providing means for suspending the body from the moving means, wherein said suspending means comprises:
- a wire attached at one end thereof to the body;
- a weighted object corresponding to at least an actual weight of the body, said weighted object being attached to the other end of said wire;
- and
- pulley means attached to said moving means, said wire being led through said pulley means to transmit the motion of said moving means to the body;
- and
- activating said moving means to immerse the body suspended into said tank at said predetermined rate;
- measuring a change in the body buoyancy representative of the change in the body volume displaced by the body for each unit time as the body is immersed within said tank;
- inputting said measured change and said predetermined rate to means for calculating a quotient of the former divided by the latter;
- calculating said quotient for each unit time;
- and
- providing an output from said quotients corresponding to said profile of cross-sectional areas.
11 more elements
Apparatus for determining the cross-sectional area of selected points along a three-dimensional body having a complex shape, comprising:
- a tank containing a volume of fluid;
- means for immersing the body into said tank at a predetermined rate so that successive ones of said points are immersed into said fluid, wherein said immersing means comprises:
- means for moving the body;
- means for suspending the body from said moving means, said suspension means including a wire attached at one end thereof to the body, a weighted object corresponding to at least the actual weight of the body, said weighted object being attached to the other end of said wire, and pulley means attached to said moving means, said wire being led through said pulley means to transmit the motion of said moving means to the body thereby immersing the body in said fluid;
- means for measuring a representation of the change in sid volume displaced by the body per unit time as the body is immersed between respective ones of said points within said tank;
- and
- means for calculating quotients of said measured change and said predetermined rate;
- wherein said quotients correspond to the cross-sectional area of the body between the selected points along its length.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.