Cooling system for a gas turbine

An axial flow elastic fluid machine having a multi-stage compressor and a turbine, said turbine comprising:

• a stationary portion and a rotatable portion rotatable about a longitudinal axis;
• said rotatable portion including a plurality of discs extending radially outwardly from said axis;
• each of said discs having an annular array of radially extending blades disposed thereon;
• said stationary portion including a plurality of annular arrays of radially extending stationary blades disposed adjacent said arrays of rotatable blades;
• said stationary blades having at least one passageway extending generally radially therethrough;
• said stationary portion also including a plurality of outer annular plenum chambers disposed radially outwardly of said stationary blades;
• said rotating and stationary blades being disposed to provide a flow path for motive elastic fluid;
• means for supplying cooling fluid to each of said outer annular plenum chambers from different stages of said compressor at a pressure slightly higher than the motive fluid in the fluid path adjacent the stationary blade;
• a plurality of inner annular plenum chambers disposed radially inwardly of said stationary blades;
• each of said inner annular plenum chambers being connected in fluid communication with an associated outer plenum chamber by passageways in the stationary blades;
• said inner annular chambers having upstream and downstream passageways disposed to allow the cooling fluid to flow over portions of the upstream and downstream discs to cool them;
• said inner annular plenum chambers having a plurality of walls and said walls having a plurality of passageways for directing cooling fluid upon adjacent discs;
• and
• said rotatable blades having root portions and the discs having grooves, which cooperate with the roots of the blades to hold the blades in the discs, there being a space between the radially inner end of the root and the disc and the disc having an angularly disposed passageway arranged to direct cooling fluid into the space between the root and the disc to cool this portion of the disc;
• whereby cooling fluid has a pressure only slightly higher than the motive fluid and is efficiently supplied to cool the stationary blades and adjacent discs.