Nozzle airfoil having movable nozzle ribs

A turbine vane, comprising:

• an outer peripheral wall defining a hollow interior space and extending longitudinally in a first direction;
• at least one internal baffle wall disposed in said hollow interior space, said at least one baffle wall extending longitudinally generally in said first direction, and being coupled to and extending in a second direction between opposing inner portions of said peripheral wall so as to provide mechanical support to said peripheral wall, said second direction being generally transverse to said first direction, said at least one baffle wall being structurally distinct from but mechanically coupled to said inner portions of said peripheral wall so as to be substantially transversely locked to said peripheral wall thereby to substantially prevent relative movement between said at least one baffle wall and said peripheral wall in said second direction,
• wherein said inner portions of said peripheral wall define a coupling structure comprising at least one of a longitudinal groove and a longitudinal projection and said baffle wall is cast thereto so as to define a complementary coupling structure.

A turbine airfoil, comprising:

• an outer peripheral wall including a generally concave side wall and a generally convex side wall defining therebetween a hollow interior space;
• a plurality of baffle walls extending between said convex side wall and said concave side wall so as to mechanically support said side walls and so as to divide said hollow interior space into a plurality of cooling passages for coolant flow;
• each said baffle wall extending longitudinally in a first direction generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of said outer peripheral wall, and extending between said side walls in a second direction generally transverse to said longitudinal axis of said outer wall, at least one of said baffle walls being structurally distinct from but mechanically coupled to said side walls so as to be substantially transversely locked to said convex and concave side walls to substantially prevent relative movement between said baffle wall and said convex and concave side walls in said second direction, wherein said side walls each include a coupling structure comprising at least one of a longitudinal groove and a longitudinal projection and said at least one baffle wall is cast thereto so as to define a complementary coupling structure.