Review of 3D woven preforms for the composite blades of aero engine

The composites made from 3D woven preforms(3DWCs) have attracted far more attentions due to their very high specific-strength, low density, low thermal expansion and excellent formability, which have been successfully employed in aircraft and automobile engineering. With the research and development of aero engine are increasing, 3DWCs have also been applied to engine parts. The current research progress and current situation of 3D woven preforms(3DWPs)for the composite blades of aero engine were summarized; A contrastive analysis of several weaving methods of special-shaped high thickness 3DWPs was carried out; The research progress of deformation performance of 3DWPs was recommended based on experimentation and simulation; The effect of 3DWPs structure on the properties of the composites was also introduced; Furthermore, the challenges and outlook of the 3DWPs were outlined, thus it provided some reference gist for the deeper research on the development of composite blades of aero engine.