So I decided to be a little ambitious and try to model a turbine engine. I’ve always wondered how they worked, and figured that the curvy shape of the blades of some of the fans would give me some good surface modeling and lofting practice.

 

This picture gives a very general idea of how a turbine engine works, and is the image I based my model off of.

The air is taken in on the left, and is compressed by a series of many fans until it gets to the combustion chambers. A small amount of the air enters into the combustion chambers, where it is mixed with fuel and ignited. As the air  (now very hot and pressurized) flows through the combustion chamber more air mixes into the combustion chamber from the holes/slots on the side. Finally the air is shot out, producing thrust and spinning the turbine. The turbine is used to spin the compression/intake fans, as all of the fans are on the same axle.

 

 

Full assembly:

A quarter section of the outer case is cut away here to expose the internal components.

 

Exploded View:

 

Low Pressure Intake Fan:

For this part I did a surface loft and then used the freeform tool to make the curvy shape of the blades. I then used the thicken tool to add material to the surface.

 

Higher Pressure Fan:

These fan blades were made with just a loft, no fancy surface tricks.

 

Turbine Fan:

This fan is actually a modification of the previous one, but with the core expanded.

 

Combustion Chamber:

The holes and slits on the side allow for the mixing of air with the fuel. The exhaust escapes through the end hole on the right side of the picture, creating thrust.