Adaptive Repair Method for Aerofoil Blades

• US 20170316146A1
• Filed: 04/21/2017
• Published: 11/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Huckerby, Karl S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,452,809 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 6/007 using only additive methods, e.g. build-up welding
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/005 Repairing methods or devices
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/401 characterised by control arrangements for measuring, e.g. calibration and initialisation, measuring workpiece for machining purposes G05B19/19 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45147 Machining blade, airfoil
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/17 Mechanical parametric or variational design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

This disclosure concerns an adaptive repair method, for example for aerofoil blade components. The method generates a digitised model of a physical component and uses data from the digitised model to align a part of the physical component with a nominal CAD model of the component. A combination of the digitised data and data from the nominal CAD model are then used to create an adapted model for repair of the component.

Claims

1. An adaptive repair method comprising the steps of providing a digitized model of a base portion of a physical component, aligning a corresponding base portion of a nominal CAD model of said component with the digitized model such that the nominal model extends beyond the digitized model used for alignment, extracting a set of co-ordinate points from the nominal model once aligned and lofting a cross-sectional profile based on the measured profile of the base portion along a path defined by the co-ordinate points of the nominal model once aligned to create an adapted model for repair of the component;

and adding material to the component based on the adapted model.

2. An adaptive repair method according to claim 1, wherein the digitized model is created by digitizing an entire component and electronically cutting back the resulting model to a predetermined crop plane.

3. An adaptive repair method according to claim 1, wherein the physical component is physically cut back before digitizing to create the digitized model of the base portion.

4. An adaptive repair method according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional profile is adapted to create an oversized material addition region for a material addition step in the adapted model.

5. An adaptive repair method according to claim 1, wherein the adapted model includes tool path data within the oversized material addition region for a re-profiling step in the repair process.

6. An adaptive repair method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of machining the component based on the adapted model.

7. An adaptive repair method according to claim 1, wherein the component is an aerofoil blade and the co-ordinate points comprise points at the leading edge and/or trailing edge of the blade.

8. An adaptive repair method according to claim 7, wherein the co-ordinate points comprise points on the concave and/or convex surfaces of the blade.

9. An adaptive repair method according to claim 1, wherein the co-ordinate points are located in a number of planes, at least one of said planes intersecting the digitized model of the base portion, and at least one plane being located beyond the digitized model of the base portion.

10. An adaptive repair method according to claim 9, wherein at least ten planes are located beyond the digitized model of the base portion.

11. An adaptive repair method according to claim 9, wherein at least three planes intersect the digitized model of the base portion.

12. An adaptive repair method according to claim 9, wherein at four planes intersect the digitized model of the base portion and seventeen planes are located beyond the digitized model of the base portion.

13. An adaptive repair method comprising the steps of providing a component;

and a digitized model of a portion of the component; and

an adapted model; and

adding material to the component based on the adapted model;

wherein the adapted model is provided by aligning a corresponding portion of a nominal CAD model of said component with the digitized model such that the nominal model extends beyond the digitized model, extracting a set of co-ordinate points from the aligned nominal model and lofting a cross-sectional profile based on the measured profile of the base portion along a path defined by the co-ordinate points of the aligned nominal model to create the adapted model for repair of the component.

14. An adaptive repair method according to claim 13, further comprising a step of machining the component based on the adapted model.

15. An adaptive repair method according to claim 13, wherein the digitized model is created by digitizing an entire component and electronically cutting back the resulting model to a predetermined crop plane.

16. An adaptive repair method according to claim 13, wherein the physical component is physically machined before digitizing to create the digitized model of the base portion.

17. An adaptive repair method comprising the steps of providing a digitized model of a base portion of a physical component, aligning a corresponding base portion of a nominal CAD model of said component with the digitized model such that the nominal model extends beyond the digitized model used for alignment, extracting a set of co-ordinate points from the aligned nominal model and lofting a cross-sectional profile based on the measured profile of the base portion along a path defined by the co-ordinate points of the aligned nominal model to create an adapted model for repair of the component;

and further comprising a step of machining the component based on the adapted model.

18. An adaptive repair method according to claim 17, wherein the digitized model is created by digitizing an entire component and electronically cutting back the resulting model to a predetermined crop plane.

19. An adaptive repair method according to claim 17, wherein the physical component is physically machined before digitizing to create the digitized model of the base portion.

20. An adaptive repair method according to claim 17, wherein the adapted model includes tool path data within the oversized material addition region for a re-profiling step in the repair process.