The precise specification of surface geometry of an aircraft is one of the most important and major activities inits design. An initial design, defined by the fundamental requirements, is iteratively analysed and modified till a satisfactory configuration is obtained. Very often in the early stages the need to rapidly make modifications to the geometry for immediate analysis overrides the stringency of smoothness and correctness ofthe surfaces. This paper describes the design of an interactive system which enables the designer to quickly specify the surface geometry and to modify it easily and rapidly. In particular, the software engineering aspects are emphasized. The system uses B-splines for the representation of complex geometry. Surfaces of revolution, required to model certain parts ofthe aircraft, and other simple geometric primitives are also supported. Apart from the usual modeller facilities, features such as camber, twist and form constraints such as tangent or curvature control at a point, etc., are also provided. The system enables easy input and rapid editing of geomeiry through the use of a number of innovative concepts which aim at simplifying and speeding up the man-machine interaction. Multiple window display of entities, augmented by plots of curvature, cross sections etc. provide the visualization tool necessary to assist the designer in decision making.

Date Published: 1 August 1990
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 1251, Curves and Surfaces in Computer Vision and Graphics, (1 August 1990); doi: 10.1117/12.19756

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1251:
Curves and Surfaces in Computer Vision and Graphics
Leonard A. Ferrari; Rui J. P. de Figueiredo, Editor(s)