Turbine nozzle cooling assembly

#The present application and the resultant patent relate generally to gas turbine engines and more particularly relate to a cooling assembly for an inner platform of a cantilevered turbine nozzle and the like.

#Impingement cooling systems have been used with turbine machinery to cool various types of components such as casings, buckets, nozzles, and the like. Impingement cooling systems cool the components via an airflow so as to maintain adequate clearances between the components and to promote adequate component lifetime. One issue with some types of known impingement cooling systems, however, is that they tend to require complicated castings and/or structural welding. Such structures may have low durability or may be expensive to produce and repair.

#There is thus a desire for a producible cooling assembly for use with turbine nozzles. Preferably, such a producible cooling assembly can adequately face high gas path temperatures while meeting lifetime and maintenance requirements as well as being reasonable in cost.

#FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas turbine engine showing a compressor, combustor, and a turbine.

#FIG. 2 is a partial side view of a nozzle vane with an impingement cooling assembly therein.

#FIG. 3 is a partial side view of an example of a nozzle vane with an impingement cooling assembly as may be described herein.

#Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of gas turbine engine 10 as may be used herein. The gas turbine engine 10 may include a compressor 15. The compressor 15 compresses an incoming flow of air 20. The compressor 15 delivers the compressed flow of air 20 to a combustor 25. The combustor 25 mixes the compressed flow of air 20 with a pressurized flow of fuel 30 and ignites the mixture to create a flow of combustion gases 35. Although only a single combustor 25 is shown, the gas turbine engine 10 may include any number of combustors 25. The flow of combustion gases 35 is in turn delivered to a turbine 40. The flow of combustion gases 35 drives the turbine 40 so as to produce mechanical work. The mechanical work produced in the turbine 40 drives the compressor 15 via a shaft 45 and an external load 50 such as an electrical generator and the like.

#The gas turbine engine 10 may use natural gas, various types of syngas, and/or other types of fuels. The gas turbine engine 10 may be any one of a number of different gas turbine engines offered by General Electric Company of Schenectady, N.Y., including, but not limited to, those such as a 7 or a 9 series heavy duty gas turbine engine and the like. The gas turbine engine 10 may have different configurations and may use other types of components. Other types of gas turbine engines also may be used herein. Multiple gas turbine engines, other types of turbines, and other types of power generation equipment also may be used herein together.

#FIG. 2 is an example of a nozzle 55 that may be used with the turbine 40 described above. Generally described, the nozzle 55 may include a nozzle vane 60 that extends between an inner platform 65 and an outer platform 70. A number of the nozzles 55 may be combined into a circumferential array to form a stage with a number of rotor blades (not shown).