Turbine engine with shroud cooling means

In a turbine engine of the type having a support housing, an air compressor rotatably mounted in said housing and having an inlet and an outlet, a combustor in said housing, said combustor having a chamber fluidly connected with the outlet from the compressor, means for supplying fuel to said combustor chamber, at least one turbine wheel rotatably mounted to said support housing and at least one stator vane connected to said support housing, and an annular shroud attached to said housing coaxially around said turbine wheel, the improvement which comprises:

• an annular wall secured to said support housing coaxially around and spaced radially outwardly from said shroud and forming an annular chamber therebetween,
• first fluid passage means in said support housing between said compressor outlet and the outer periphery of said annular wall for diverting a portion of said compressor output to said outer periphery of said annular wall,
• said annular wall having a plurality of openings which provide fluid communication from said compressor outlet and to said annular chamber so that air flow through said openings impinges against said outer periphery of said shroud, and wherein each of said openings is in radial alignment with one of said at least one turbine wheel so that the entire diverted portion of said compressor output flows through said openings and into said openings and into said annular chambers,
• said at least one stator vane having a fluid passageway formed therethrough, said fluid passageway having a portion adjacent the upstream edge of said stator vane, said fluid passageway being open at one end only to one end of said annular chamber so that all of said diverted portion of the compressor output flows into said annular chamber, against said shroud and thereafter flows through said vane fluid passageway to thereby cool said vane;
• and
• second fluid passage means for fluidly connecting the other end of said vane fluid passageway and said combustor chamber and for returning a major portion of said diverted portion of said compressor output to said combustor chamber.