Villengineer, somethings (technical things) may seem to you or to public to be trade secrets. But they may always not be so for some people like me. I mean... I mean if you know some basical things like designing a blade which will control small air flow "scales" around it is "almost impossible" by the technology today, then you would understand the real secrets in such studies like Gilmore did 8 years ago. What can be their technical secrets, anyway? There are some generalized formulae for the flow mechanisms and solid cutting mechanism between the mower blade and grass blade. These generalized equations are hard to handle unless you use super computers. So, Gilmore's only secret can be in the practical simple form of their empirical function they used as a term in a simplified solid+fluid equations. So, a set of equations with a "secret" term? No, I don't consider these equations as the secret things as such equations can be found everywhere. Solving them equations? Unless they use "special" numerical algorithms with some "special" tricks, I don't consider "solving process too is a secret" - See they are using Fluent and Phoenix(?) packages whose all solving methods are given to the public or to the owner of packages. Experimental study, use of hot wires, etc are secrets? No, they too are well known methods. Data output from computer solutions and data produced by experiments can be secret? Well, yes - but we see these data in their results (in the final blade design.) So, nothing actually is secret there. Anyway, you already have the blade they designed - Just take them, do some experimental and computational analysis and you can find all the data they obtained during the design process. Using a statistical analyse, you can even obtain a discretized form of their "secret" emphirical term that they used in simplified solid+fluid equations (if they ever used a term like an emphirical function in simplified generalized equations.) So, to me, there isn't any real secret in their studies. And, moreover, we are talking about completely different things; recycling/re-cutting the grass several time - As I often said, this requires a very complicated study that can't be done by the science today - and, knowing that this can't be done now is not a secret. So, at the best, re-cut the grass several times can be considered only "lucky" output rather than "designed" output.
John Deere like companies usually use facilities of other research institutes or universities where scholars of universities are working. They usually publish at least theoretical parts of their studies and they can be found in the literature. According to Ray from Gilmore, there is very little in the literature. and I can add that without searching any literature, I am almost sure none of their theoretical studies include the mechanism of "re-cutting the grass several times."
Also, don't belittle such engineering consultant companies like Gilmore with doctor degrees in the engineering. Institutes where Deere like big companies may have more experimental & computational facilities, but knowledge of some basical important things like "what possible - whats not possible" can be had by any person and I see Gilmore staffs too may not be different than professors at Deere institutes. Look here - I personally don't have any scientific facility now, but am able to see what Deere institute can do and what they can not do. No spin mastership here from me - spin masters are those "some"ones who tell the users "re-cutting the grass blades is being designed by major mower MFGs". Just prove us if such a re-cutting mechanism by the blade in the deck is really being designed, then I will apologize from all here. Ps: don't tell your mower is re-cutting the grass several times. They are "lucky" re-cuts due to unpredictable nature of turbulent/chaotic flows. I've seen many many scholars who have been awarded PhD degrees even though they have blown much. Turbulence field is such a field - They blow much and they think no one can disprove their blows. But they forget noise filtering technology.
Okay - this is the conclusion of topic;
Blades aren't being designed according to recycling the grass to re-cut them several times in the deck. Only averaged/mean quantities can be aimed to be obtained and this is possible simply by a simple blocking air discharge path so that the cut grass recycles into the deck and "luckily" re-cut again before it's discharged out. The mower blade design has nothing to do with these. OK?
