Assembly of a composite blade root and a rotor

In combination, a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of composite blades carried by a rotor as a support member, each composite blade including a plurality of bonded composite plies comprising an airfoil and a blade root shaped to be carried by the rotor, the blade root having a composite root outer pressure pad disposed on the root and carried by the rotor, the composite root outer pressure pad comprising a plurality of non-metallic composite piles bonded together and with the blade root, the improved combination wherein:

• the rotor includes a plurality of circumferentially disposed blade root receiving slots having a slot wall at least a portion of which is shaped to receive a blade root, the slot wall including a radially inward portion and a radially outward portion and shaped to receive and carry at least a portion of a root outer pressure face of the composite root pressure pad;
• the blade including a root outer pressure face on the composite root outer pressure pad, the pressure face having a radially inner surface, extending from a root end, and a radially outer surface, extending from a junction with the inner surface toward the blade airfoil, the inner surface being in contact with and carried by the slot wall radially inward portion to carry the blade root when assembled with the rotor;
• and,
• the root pressure face radially outer surface and the slot wall radially outward portion, when assembled, being in diverging spaced apart juxtaposition beginning at the junction between the root pressure face inner and outer surfaces and generally diverging radially outwardly therefrom in a diverging amount which is a function of a predetermined amount of centrifugal loading on the blade during operation of the rotor assembly, to allow at least a portion of the radially outer surface of the root outer pressure face to be in contact with the slot wall radially outward surface during operation.