Patents by Inventor Duncan Pollard

Duncan Pollard has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and apparatus for remotely detecting pressure, force, temperature, density, vibration, viscosity and speed of sound in a fluid
    Patent number: 6286361
    Abstract: An apparatus for detecting pressure in a hollow fan blade of a turbofan gas turbine engine comprises a magnetostriction transducer arranged in a sub chamber of the fan blade which is interconnected to a main chamber. A magnetic coil is arranged in the fan casing of the turbofan remote from the fan blade, and an alternating current is supplied from a supply to the magnetic coil to produce an alternating magnetic field. The alternating magnetic field causes the magnetostriction transducer to generate vibrations in the fan blade and the magnetostriction transducer. A magnetic search coil detects changes in the magnetic field, which corresponds to the vibrations, and a processor analyses the vibrations to determine if there has been a change in the resonant frequency of the vibrations which is indicative of a change in the pressure in the fan blade. The processor supplies a signal to a display or to an alarm. The change in the pressure is indicative that the fan blade is cracked and needs replacing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce plc
    Inventors: Alan R Jones, John R Webster, Ian D Brown, Duncan Pollard, Rodney D Greenough