Manufacturing aligned cooling features in a core for casting

A method for manufacturing cooling features in a ceramic core for a casting process comprising:

• providing a first mold portion (12) comprising a cooling fluid receiving side (14) and cooling fluid jetting side (16), the first mold portion (16) comprising at least one crossover hole forming feature (18) for forming a crossover hole having a cooling fluid inlet (20) at the cooling fluid receiving side (14) for receiving at least a portion of a cooling fluid and discharging a directed jet of the at least portion of the cooling fluid from a cooling fluid outlet (22) at the cooling fluid jetting side (16);
• providing a second mold portion (24) spaced away from the first mold portion (12) and comprising a jetted fluid receiving side (26) facing the cooling fluid jetting side (16) of the first mold portion (12) and an impingement cooled surface side (28);
• wherein the second mold portion (24) comprises an impingement jet receiving forming feature (30) for forming an impingement jet receiving feature extending away from the jetted fluid receiving side (26) of the second mold portion (24), the impingement jet receiving feature comprising a desired aiming point (32) for receiving a majority portion of the directed jet thereon so as to improve cooling performance;
• inserting a sacrificial alignment member (34) at least partially into the crossover hole forming feature (18) at the cooling fluid jetting side (16) into a space (36) between the first mold portion (12) and the second mold portion (24) and extending at least partially into the aiming point (32) of the impingement jet receiving forming feature (30) for substantially aligning a central axis (38) of the crossover hole forming feature (18) with the aiming point (32) to maintain a crossover hole and aiming point alignment during casting to ensure that the jet is directed at the aiming point (32) in a resultant cast part;
• and
• using the first and second mold portions (12, 24) aligned by the sacrificial member (34) in an investment casting process to manufacture a cast part.

An impingement cooling system for a gas turbine engine component (100) comprising:

• a coolant cavity (102) positioned within the gas turbine engine component (100) receiving a flow of a cooling fluid (104),
• an impingement cavity (106) positioned within the gas turbine engine component (100) comprising an impingement cooled surface side (108), for exposure to a hot gas flow (110);
• an impingement jet wall (126) separating the cooling cavity (102) from the impingement cavity (106), the impingement jet wall (112) comprising at least one a crossover hole (112) having a cooling fluid inlet (114) at a cooling fluid receiving side (116) for receiving at least a portion of a cooling fluid (104) and discharging a directed jet (124) of the at least portion of the cooling fluid (104) from a cooling fluid outlet (118) at a cooling fluid jetting side (120) and further comprising an impingement jet conditioning feature (134) at the cooling fluid jetting side (120) for conditioning the flow of the directed jet (124) therefrom;
• an exterior wall (128) spaced away from the impingement jet wall (126) to define the impingement cavity (106) therebetween, the exterior wall (128) comprising a jetted fluid receiving side (122) facing the cooling fluid jetting side (120) of the impingement jet wall (126) and the impingement cooled surface side (108);
• and further comprising an impingement jet receiving feature (130) extending away from the jetted fluid receiving side (122), where the impingement jet receiving feature (130) comprises an aiming point (132) for receiving a majority portion of the directed jet (124) thereon so as to enhance a cooling of the exterior wall (128);
• and
• wherein a central axis (136) of the crossover hole (112) is substantially aligned with the aiming point (132) to ensure that the directed jet (124) is directed at the aiming point (32) for increasing a cooling effectiveness of the impingement jet receiving feature (130).