Turbine blade

A blade for a gas turbine engine having a turbine rotor disk, the blade comprising:

• a dovetail having at least one cooling fluid inlet passage and configured to mount to the turbine rotor disk;
• an airfoil extending radially from the dovetail and having an outer surface defining a pressure side and a suction side extending axially between a leading edge and a trailing edge and extending radially between a root and a tip, with the root being adjacent the dovetail;
• and
• a leading edge cooling circuit located within the airfoil and comprising:
• a supply passage extending from the root toward the tip and fluidly coupled to an inlet passage at the root,
• a near wall cooling circuit located along the outer surface and having a plenum passage fluidly coupled to the supply passage and extending from the tip toward the root, a first return passage extending from the root toward the tip and fluidly coupled to the plenum passage, a second return passage extending from the root toward the tip and fluidly coupled to the plenum passage, with the plenum passage located between the first and second return passages, and
• a leading edge passage adjacent the leading edge, extending in a root to tip direction and fluidly coupled to the supply passage;
• wherein cooling fluid is supplied through the inlet passage to the supply passage, where it flows directly from the supply passage into both the plenum passage and the leading edge passage, and a flow of cooling fluid from the plenum passage splits so that some of the cooling fluid from the plenum passage flows into the first return passage and other of the cooling fluid from the plenum passage flows into the second return passage.

An airfoil for a gas turbine engine comprising

• an outer surface extending axially between a leading edge and a trailing edge and extending radially between a root and a tip, and
• a leading edge cooling circuit located within the airfoil adjacent the leading edge and comprising
• a supply passage extending from the root toward the tip,
• a near wall cooling circuit located along the outer surface and between the outer surface and the supply passage, and the near wall cooling circuit having a plenum passage fluidly coupled to the supply passage and extending from the tip toward the root, and
• first and second return passages extending from the root toward the tip and fluidly coupled to the plenum passage, and a leading edge passage adjacent the leading edge, extending in a root to tip direction and fluidly coupled to the supply passage,
• wherein cooling fluid is supplied through the supply passage, where it flows directly from the supply passage into both the plenum passage and the leading edge passage, and a flow of cooling fluid from the plenum passage splits so that some of the cooling fluid from the plenum passage flows into the first return passage and other of the cooling fluid from the plenum passage flows into the second return passage.