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The thing is, I am trying to make turbofan blades in Solidworks for a possible undergraduate thesis.

I want to know if there is any airfoil from the NACA series or any airfoil families plausible for this application. Maybe an airfoil in which I can reference the shape I will make because I would need to indicate the airfoil used in the thesis.

Any leads to design process involved in turbofan blades is appreciated, as this might help if no specific airfoils are available for the public. Thanks!

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi Paul. I originally voted to close as needing more details. I see you added that this would be a University project. I still feel this is too vague. The theory on blade design is vast and detailed, to the point that there are entire books written on it. And even helping for the single specific project I think it would require an answer too long to be viable here. Are you just looking for a plausible airfoil? Or do you need to design a turbine for a specific engine/use? $\endgroup$
    – Federico
    Nov 25, 2022 at 11:28
  • $\begingroup$ I would like to know a plausible airfoil to be used for turbofan fan blade $\endgroup$
    – Paul P.
    Nov 25, 2022 at 12:22
  • $\begingroup$ Airfoil for the outer part of the blade is normally a simple convex profile (i.e. with pointy leading and trailing edge). Anyway the whole geometry is much more complex. I'd suggest you to get in touch either with some engine manufacturer or some writer of scientific article about turbofan simulation. $\endgroup$
    – sophit
    Nov 25, 2022 at 20:20

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The blade shape is part of the proprietary art of jet engine design, which is a fiendishly complicated business. There are many engineering constraints and requirements which must be met for any one single engine design and it takes months and months of computer work to accomplish this.

But that's just the beginning of the blade design process, because after deciding on the blade shape, you have to look for a blade material that can handle all the different aerodynamic, mechanical, vibratory, thermal, and inertial stresses that will be applied to the blade while the engine is running. Optimizing the blade material requires years of materials science research and experimentation.

This is most assuredly not a task which can be undertaken by a single person in his or her garage!

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks, I am doing it for a university project in Solidworks though, not in real life. But I want to replicate or at least be able to make the general shape as accurate as possible from hub to tip. I'd be doing some CFD analysis on it as well, and it would be much appreciated if you can give me pointers on what to do, read or follow. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Paul P.
    Nov 25, 2022 at 10:37
  • $\begingroup$ I'm sorry, but I do not know any references to steer you to. Any good textbook on turbomachinery (as a branch of mechanical engineering) should furnish examples of the sort which may be helpful to you. good luck- Niels $\endgroup$
    – niels nielsen
    Nov 25, 2022 at 18:25

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