A composite airfoil made of a three dimensional woven core and a composite skin and method of manufacturing this airfoil

摘要

A composite airfoil (34) includes a three-dimensional composite core (48) extending longitudinally and having a chord-wise direction (X). The core (48) has a core in-plane thickness extending between opposing sides in a through-plane direction (Z) generally perpendicular to the chord-wise (X) and longitudinal directions (Y). A composite skin (56) covers the opposing sides and has an exterior surface providing an airfoil contour. The skin (56) includes a total skin in-plane thickness (J+L) corresponding to a sum of thicknesses through the skin (56) in the through-plane direction (Z) from each of the opposing sides to their adjoining exterior surface. A sum of the core in-plane and total skin in-plane thicknesses (K+J+L) at a central portion (64) of the composite airfoil is a total in-plane thickness. The total skin in-plane thickness (J+L) at the central portion (64) is less than 50% of the total in-plane thickness (K+J+L).