Algorithm for Spatial Straightness Evaluation Using Theories of Linear Complex Chebyshev Approximation and Semi-infinite Linear Programming

This paper presents a novel methodology for evaluating spatial straightness error based on the minimum zone criterion. Spatial straightness evaluation is formulated as a linear complex Chebyshev approximation problem, and then reformulated as a semi-infinite linear programming problem. Both models for the primal and dual programs are developed. An efficient simplex-based algorithm is employed to solve the dual linear program to yield the straightness value. Also a general algebraic criterion for checking the optimality of the solution is proposed. Numerical experiments are given to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the presented algorithm.