vanes

Vanes are thin, flat blades attached to rotors, stators, or ducts that guide, accelerate, or compress fluids in engineering systems. They range from simple flat plates to curved airfoil shapes and are used to convert between kinetic energy and pressure, or to direct flow, mix, or separate.

In turbomachinery, vanes occur as rotor blades that spin with a shaft and stator vanes anchored to the housing. Airfoil-shaped vanes reduce flow separation and losses, and some systems use adjustable vanes or variable geometry to optimize performance across operating conditions. In multi-stage machines, alternating rotor and stator vanes extract energy or add head to the fluid.

In jet engines and turbopumps, inlet guide vanes straighten the incoming flow and compressor stators reorder flow between stages. In fans and blowers, vane geometry shapes the fans' pressure ratio and efficiency.

Weather and architectural contexts use vanes as obstruction-free wind indicators or weather vanes, which rotate to indicate wind direction; shipwrights and HVAC engineers use vane-diffuser assemblies to straighten ducted air.

Materials include metals such as steel, aluminum, and titanium, as well as composites and ceramics for high-temperature applications. Vanes are manufactured by forging, casting, or precision machining and are often coated or treated to resist wear and corrosion. Design considerations include blade loading, tip clearance, vibrational stability, erosion, and fatigue.

Maintenance involves inspection for cracks, corrosion, and deposits, balancing for rotating vanes, and periodic replacement to maintain efficiency and safety. Failures can lead to performance losses or structural damage in high-speed machinery.