BLISK FAN

• A blisk is a single engine component consisting of a rotor disk

and blades, which may be either integrally cast, machined from

a solid piece of material, or made by welding individual blades to

the rotor disk. The term is used mainly in aerospace engine

design. The word is a combination of blade and disk, the two

components it replaces in turbomachinery. Blisks may also be

known as integrally bladed rotors (IBR).

ADVANTAGES

• Instead of making bare compressor disks and attaching the

blades later on in the process, blisks are single elements

combining the two. This eliminates the need to attach the

blades to the disk (via screws, bolts, etc.), thus decreasing the

number of components within the compressor, while at the

same time decreasing drag and increasing efficiency of air

compression within the engine. In addition, the removal of the

dovetail attachment found on traditional turbine blades

eliminates a common source for crack initiation and

subsequent propagation.