High effectiveness cooled turbine blade

An air-cooled turbine blade having an airfoil shape defined by a convex suction side wall, a concave pressure side wall, a leading edge, a trailing edge, a root and a tip, the walls and the tip each including an interior surface that defines an interior with the root, the trailing edge including a plurality of slots formed thereon, the turbine blade comprising:

• a suction side flow circuit formed within the blade interior comprising a forward and an aft flow circuit, the forward flow circuit extending from the root to the tip and defined at least by the interior surface of the convex suction side wall, the forward flow circuit including an outlet, and the aft flow circuit formed within the blade interior and defined at least in part by the convex suction side wall, the aft flow circuit comprising a serpentine passage section, a pin bank section, and a cross-over hole, the serpentine passage section in flow communication with the pin bank section, the pin bank section in flow communication with at least one of the trailing edge slots, and the cross-over hole formed on the serpentine passage section;
• a tip flow circuit extending along the tip interior surface from the leading edge to and into at least one of the trailing edge slots and including a first and a second opening, the first opening in flow communication with the suction side forward flow circuit outlet, and the second opening in flow communication with the suction side aft flow circuit cross-over hole;
• a pressure side flow circuit formed within the blade interior and defined at least in part by the concave pressure side wall, the pressure side flow circuit including a serpentine passage;
• and
• a center flow circuit formed within the blade interior in between the suction side flow circuit and the pressure side flow circuit and including a supercharging hole formed thereon, the supercharging hole in flow communication with the tip flow circuit.

A method of manufacturing a blade having an airfoil shape defined by a convex suction side wall, a concave pressure side wall, a leading edge, a trailing edge, a root and a tip, the walls and the tip each including an interior surface that defines an interior with the root, the trailing edge including a plurality of slots formed thereon, the method comprising the steps of:

• forming a plurality of cores shaped substantially similarly to a plurality of flow circuits comprising:
• a suction side flow circuit comprising a forward and an aft flow circuit, the forward flow circuit configured to extend from the root to the tip along the interior surface of the convex suction side wall and to include an outlet, and the aft flow circuit configured to extend along the convex suction side wall and comprising a serpentine passage section, a pin bank section, and a cross-over hole, the serpentine passage section in flow communication with the pin bank section, the pin bank section in flow communication with at least one of the trailing edge slots, and the cross-over hole formed on the serpentine passage section;
• and
• a tip flow circuit configured to extend along the tip interior surface from the leading edge to and into at least one of the trailing edge slots;
• forming the blade around the cores such that the tip flow circuit includes a first and a second opening, the first opening is in flow communication with the suction side forward flow circuit outlet, and the second opening is in flow communication with the suction side aft flow circuit cross-over hole;
• and
• removing the cores from the blade.