Method for characterising the profile of a surface
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorsAndrew D Jackson, Peter I Wright, Michael A Howard, Robert J Stafford
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for characterising the surface profile of a component comprises the steps of a) dividing the surface into at least two regions; b) for each region, measuring the surface and selecting a number of measured points to define a co-ordinate dataset for the region; c) for each region, applying a curve-fitting algorithm to the dataset for the region to define the surface profile of the region; d) combining the defined surface profiles for the regions to produce a defined surface profile for the aerofoil surface. The characterization may be used in the design, analysis and manufacturing steps of product development, thereby decreasing the total time and work required.
Claims13
A method for characterising a profile of a surface of an aerofoil, the method comprising:
- a) dividing the surface into a plurality of regions, including at least a leading tip region, a suction surface flank region, a pressure surface flank region and a trailing tip region, adjacent regions being linked by transition regions;
- b) defining a plurality of stages, each stage comprising a pair of adjacent regions and their corresponding transition region;
- c) for each region of a stage, measuring the surface and selecting a number of measured points to define a co-ordinate dataset for that stage;
- d) for each stage, applying a curve-fitting algorithm to the dataset for the stage to characterise the profile of the stage;
- and
- wherein at least one of the preceding steps is performed by a computer
- e) combining the characterised stage profiles so as to characterise the profile of the surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.