Near wall cooling for a highly tapered turbine blade
View Patent ↗A turbine blade having a pressure sidewall and a suction sidewall connected at chordally spaced leading and trailing edges to define a cooling cavity. Pressure and suction side inner walls extend radially within the cooling cavity and define pressure and suction side near wall chambers. A plurality of mid-chord channels extend radially from a radially intermediate location on the blade to a tip passage at the blade tip for connecting the pressure side and suction side near wall chambers in fluid communication with the tip passage. In addition, radially extending leading edge and trailing edge flow channels are located adjacent to the leading and trailing edges, respectively, and cooling fluid flows in a triple-pass serpentine path as it flows through the leading edge flow channel, the near wall chambers and the trailing edge flow channel.
1. A turbine blade comprising:
an outer wall extending from a blade root to a blade tip, said outer wall comprising a pressure sidewall and a suction sidewall, said pressure and suction sidewalls connected at chordally spaced leading and trailing edges;
a cooling cavity defined between said pressure and suction sidewalls;
a pressure side inner wall extending radially within said cooling cavity from a location adjacent said blade root toward said blade tip and defining a pressure side near wall chamber;
a suction side inner wall extending radially within said cooling cavity from a location adjacent said blade root toward said blade tip and defining a suction side near wall chamber;
said suction side inner wall intersecting said pressure side inner wall at an intermediate location between said blade root and said blade tip;
a plurality of pressure side channels extending radially from said intermediate location to a tip passage at said blade tip for connecting said pressure side near wall chamber in fluid communication with said tip passage; and
a plurality of suction side channels extending radially from said intermediate location to said blade tip passage for connecting said suction side near wall chamber in fluid communication with said tip passage.
2. The turbine blade of claim 1 , wherein said tip passage connects said pressure side channels in fluid communication with said suction side channels.
3. The turbine blade of claim 2 , wherein each of said pressure side channels and said suction side channels are generally positioned along a chordal centerline of said airfoil.
4. The turbine blade of claim 1 , including a leading edge flow channel extending radially adjacent to said leading edge, and a trailing edge flow channel extending radially adjacent to said trailing edge wherein said pressure side and suction side near wall chambers are located between said leading edge and trailing edge flow channels.
5. The turbine blade of claim 4 , wherein cooling fluid flows radially outwardly through said leading edge flow channel to said tip passage.
6. The turbine blade of claim 5 , wherein said cooling fluid flows radially outwardly through said pressure side and suction side near wall chambers and through said pressure side and suction side channels to said tip passage.
7. The turbine blade of claim 6 , including a collection cavity defined between said pressure side inner wall and said suction side inner wall, and a plurality of return channels extending between said pressure side channels and said suction side channels and connecting said tip passage to said collection cavity, wherein said cooling fluid flows radially inwardly from tip passage to said collection cavity through said return channels.
8. The turbine blade of claim 7 , including a passage adjacent said blade root between said collection cavity and said trailing edge flow channel, and cooling fluid from said collection cavity flows radially outwardly through said trailing edge flow channel.
9. The turbine blade of claim 5 , wherein cooling fluid further flows radially outwardly through said pressure side near wall chamber and through said pressure side channels to said tip passage, and said cooling fluid flows radially inwardly from said tip passage through said suction side channels and through said suction side near wall chamber.
10. The turbine blade of claim 9 , wherein said cooling fluid flows from said suction side near wall chamber to said trailing edge flow channel, and flows radially outwardly through said trailing edge flow channel.
11. A turbine blade comprising:
an outer wall extending from a blade root to a blade tip, said outer wall comprising a pressure sidewall and a suction sidewall, said pressure and suction sidewalls connected at chordally spaced leading and trailing edges;
a cooling cavity defined between said pressure and suction sidewalls;
a pressure side inner wall extending radially within said cooling cavity from a location adjacent said blade root toward said blade tip and defining a pressure side near wall chamber;
a suction side inner wall extending radially within said cooling cavity from a location adjacent said blade root toward said blade tip and defining a suction side near wall chamber;
a leading edge flow channel extending radially adjacent to said leading edge;
a trailing edge flow channel extending radially adjacent to said trailing edge;
a cooling fluid supply providing cooling fluid to at least said leading edge flow channel, said cooling fluid flowing in at least a triple-pass serpentine path through said leading edge flow channel, said pressure side near wall chamber, said suction side near wall chamber and said trailing edge flow channel;
said pressure side inner wall and said suction side inner wall converge to an intermediate location between said blade root and said blade tip; and
including a plurality of mid-chord channels extending radially between said intermediate location and a tip passage at said blade tip.
12. The turbine blade of claim 11 , wherein said cooling fluid flows radially outwardly through said leading edge flow channel and through at least said pressure side near wall chamber to said tip passage, and said cooling fluid flows radially inwardly from said tip passage through a plurality of said mid-chord channels.
13. The turbine blade of claim 12 , including a collection cavity defined between said pressure side inner wall and said suction side inner wall, and said cooling fluid flows radially outwardly through both said pressure side and suction side near wall chambers and through a plurality of said mid-cord channels to said tip passage, and then flows radially inwardly through a plurality of said mid-chord channels from said tip passage to said collection cavity.
14. The turbine blade of claim 13 , wherein said trailing edge flow channel receives said cooling fluid from said collection cavity, and said cooling fluid flows radially outwardly through said trailing edge flow channel.
15. The turbine blade of claim 12 , wherein said cooling fluid flows radially inwardly though a plurality of said mid-chord channels from said tip passage to said suction side near wall chamber.
16. The turbine blade of claim 15 , wherein said trailing edge flow channel receives said cooling fluid from said suction side near wall chamber, and said cooling fluid flows radially outwardly through said trailing edge flow channel.