Multi-pass cooling for turbine airfoils
AssigneeSiemens Energy, Inc.
InventorGeorge Liang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An airfoil for a turbine vane of a gas turbine engine. The airfoil includes an outer wall having pressure and suction sides, and a radially extending cooling cavity located between the pressure and suction sides. A plurality of partitions extend radially through the cooling cavity to define a plurality of interconnected cooling channels located at successive chordal locations through the cooling cavity. The cooling channels define a serpentine flow path extending in the chordal direction. Further, the cooling channels include a plurality of interconnected chambers and the chambers define a serpentine path extending in the radial direction within the serpentine path extending in the chordal direction.
Claims19
An airfoil for a turbine of a gas turbine engine, said airfoil comprising:
- an outer wall extending radially between opposing inner and outer ends of said airfoil, said outer wall comprising a pressure side and a suction side joined together at chordally spaced apart leading and trailing edges of said airfoil;
- a radially extending cooling cavity located between said inner and outer ends of said airfoil and between said pressure side and said suction side;
- a plurality of partitions extending radially through said cooling cavity and extending from said pressure side to said suction side, said plurality of partitions defining a plurality of cooling channels located at successive chordal locations through said cooling cavity;
- axial passages extending between adjacent cooling channels at said inner and outer ends of said airfoil to define a serpentine flow path extending in the chordal direction;
- at least one of said cooling channels comprising a plurality of ribs defining a plurality of chambers located at successive radial locations through said at least one cooling channel;
- and
- radial passages extending between pairs of adjacent chambers at one of said pressure side and said suction side to define a serpentine flow path extending in the radial direction, wherein said radial passages between adjacent chambers comprise a space defined by a distance between a distal end of each rib and an adjacent inner surface of one of said pressure side and said suction side, wherein said distance is about 15% to about 25% of a length of said respective rib so as to define elongated flow paths extending between adjacent ones of said ribs perpendicular to the radial direction for effecting a circumferential flow of fluid through said chambers to cause said fluid to impinge on said pressure and suction sides as the fluid flows circumferentially through said chambers.
An airfoil for a turbine vane of a gas turbine engine, said airfoil comprising:
- an outer wall extending radially between opposing inner and outer ends of said airfoil, said outer wall comprising a pressure side and a suction side joined together at chordally spaced apart leading and trailing edges of said airfoil;
- a radially extending cooling cavity located between said inner and outer ends of said airfoil and between said pressure side and said suction side;
- a plurality of partitions extending radially through said cooling cavity and extending from said pressure side to said suction side, said plurality of partitions defining a plurality of interconnected cooling channels located at successive chordal locations through said cooling cavity, said cooling channels defining a serpentine flow path extending in the chordal direction;
- and
- said cooling channels comprising a plurality of interconnected chambers defined by radially spaced ribs and corresponding radial passages extending between pairs of adjacent chambers at one of said pressure side and said suction side, and said chambers defining a serpentine path extending in the radial direction within said serpentine path extending in the chordal direction, wherein adjacent ribs within each cooling channel extend circumferentially and overlap one another in the radial direction to define elongated flow paths extending perpendicular to the radial direction such that fluid flowing along said serpentine path defined by said chambers must flow in the circumferential direction as it flows through said chambers and impinges on said pressure and suction sides as the fluid flows circumferentially through said chambers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.