Materials used and why
Fan and compressor blades are often made of titanium. It is much lighter than steel but still very strong.
Turbine blades sit in the hottest place. They are made of nickel superalloys, special metals that stay strong even when red hot. The best blades are grown as a single crystal, so they have no weak joins inside.
The gas there can be about 1,500 °C, hotter than the blade metal's melting point. Tiny cooling holes blow a thin blanket of cooler air over the blade, and a ceramic coating works like an oven glove. Together they keep the blade alive.
Composites, made of strong fibres like carbon glued in layers, are used for some big fan blades and covers. They are strong and very light.
🤝 Let's do one together
How can a blade survive in gas hotter than its own melting point?
💡 Two helpers. Cool air flows out of tiny holes and covers the blade, a bit like blowing on hot tea. A ceramic coat blocks heat, like an oven glove. So the metal itself stays below its melting point.
⭐ Quick quiz
Tap the right answer.
Which metal is used for light, strong fan blades?
✅ Titanium is strong but much lighter than steel.
Which metals are used for the hottest turbine blades?
✅ Nickel superalloys stay strong even when red hot.
The ceramic coating on a turbine blade works like…
✅ It slows down heat getting into the metal.
Why do turbine blades have tiny holes?
✅ The cool air makes a thin blanket that protects the blade.