Patent ID: 11861270
Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 17:
18. A gas turbine engine manufacturing method comprising:
identifying, with a controller, a plurality of virtual combinations of a plurality of scanned virtual vane components, each scanned virtual vane component comprising a respective first data set that indicates a first three-dimensional virtual representation of a different one of a plurality of physical vane components manufactured and three-dimensionally scanned to generate the plurality of scanned virtual vane components;
determining, with the controller, a plurality of virtual throat areas for the plurality of virtual combinations, wherein determining the plurality of virtual throat areas comprises, for each combination:
virtually aligning, with the controller, mating surfaces of respective scanned virtual vane components of a respective virtual combination, wherein the virtual aligning comprises: virtually aligning inner mating surfaces of a pair of scanned virtual airfoils to a pair of inner mating surfaces of a scanned virtual inner endwall, and virtually aligning outer mating surfaces of the pair of scanned virtual airfoils to a pair of outer mating surfaces of a scanned virtual outer endwall;
determining, with the controller, aligned virtual positions of the pair of scanned virtual airfoils in response to the virtually aligning the inner mating surfaces of the pair of scanned virtual airfoils to the pair of inner mating surfaces of the scanned virtual inner endwall;
updating, with the controller, the aligned virtual positions of the pair of scanned virtual airfoils in response to the virtually aligning the outer mating surfaces of the pair of scanned virtual airfoils to the pair of outer mating surfaces of the scanned virtual outer endwall;
in response to the virtually aligning the mating surfaces of the respective scanned virtual vane components of the respective virtual combination, determining, with the controller, an aligned virtual vane corresponding to the respective virtual combination, the aligned virtual vane comprising a second data set indicating a second three-dimensional virtual representation of a different one of a plurality of physical combinations of the plurality of physical vane components; and
calculating, with the controller, a respective virtual throat area of the aligned virtual vane;

selecting a physical combination of physical vane components of the plurality of physical vane components, the selection dependent on an optimal virtual combination having an optimal virtual throat area from among the plurality of virtual throat areas, wherein the physical combination corresponds to the optimal virtual combination; and
assembling together the physical vane components of the selected physical combination to form a vane of a gas turbine engine having an optimal physical throat area.