Turbine airfoil curved squealer tip with tip shelf

1. An airfoil for a gas turbine engine including a root, a tip, a leading edge, a trailing edge, and opposed pressure and suction sidewalls extending generally along a radial axis, and comprising:

a tip cap extending between said pressure and suction sidewalls;

spaced-apart suction-side and pressure-side tip walls extending radially outward from said tip cap to define a tip cavity therebetween;

wherein said pressure-side tip wall includes a continuously concave curved arcuate portion, at least a section of which extends circumferentially outward from a radial axis of said airfoil, and said pressure-side tip wall is recessed from said pressure sidewall to define an outwardly facing tip shelf, such that said pressure-side tip wall and said tip shelf define a trough therebetween.

2. The airfoil of claim 1 further including a plurality of first cooling holes extending through said tip shelf, each of said first cooling holes having an inlet disposed in flow communication with a source of cooling air and an outlet disposed in flow communication with said trough.

3. The airfoil of claim 1 wherein said tip shelf extends for substantially the entire axial length of said airfoil from said leading edge to said trailing edge.

4. The airfoil of claim 1 wherein said airfoil includes, in series, a leading edge region, a mid-chord region, and a trailing edge region, and said tip shelf is substantially contained within said mid-chord region.

5. The airfoil of claim 4 wherein said arcuate portion extends for substantially the entire axial length of said airfoil from said leading edge to said trailing edge.

6. The airfoil of claim 4 wherein said arcuate portion extends for substantially less than the entire length of said airfoil from said leading edge to said trailing edge.

7. The airfoil of claim 1 wherein said pressure side tip wall includes spaced-apart inner and outer surfaces joined by a radially-facing tip surface; and

a tip corner is defined at the junction of said outer surface and said tip surface.

8. The airfoil of claim 7 wherein said tip corner extends past an outer surface of said pressure sidewall as measured in a circumferential direction.

9. The airfoil of claim 7 wherein said tip corner does not extend past an outer surface of said pressure sidewall as measured in a circumferential direction.

10. The airfoil of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of second cooling holes disposed in said pressure sidewall and adapted to receive cooling air from a source and discharge it in a cooling film over said arcuate portion of said pressure side tip wall.

11. A turbine blade for a gas turbine engine, comprising:

a dovetail adapted to be received in a disk rotatable about a longitudinal axis;

a laterally-extending platform disposed radially outwardly from said dovetail; and

an airfoil including a root, a tip, a leading edge, a trailing edge, and opposed pressure and suction sidewalls extending generally along a radial axis, said airfoil comprising:

a tip cap extending between said pressure and suction sidewalls;

spaced-apart suction-side and pressure-side tip walls extending radially outward from said tip cap to define a tip cavity therebetween;

wherein said pressure-side tip wall includes a continuously concave curved arcuate portion, at least a section of which extends circumferentially outward from a radial axis of said blade, said pressure-side tip wall is recessed from said pressure sidewall to define an outwardly facing tip shelf, such that said pressure-side tip wall and said tip shelf define a trough therebetween.

12. The turbine blade of claim 11 further including a plurality of first cooling holes extending through said tip shelf, each of said first cooling holes having an inlet disposed in flow communication with a source of cooling air and an outlet disposed in flow communication with said trough.

13. The turbine blade of claim 11 wherein said tip shelf extends for substantially the entire axial length of said airfoil from said leading edge to said trailing edge.

14. The turbine blade of claim 11 wherein said airfoil includes, in series, a leading edge region, a mid-chord region, and a trailing edge region, and said tip shelf is substantially contained within said mid-chord region.

15. The turbine blade of claim 14 wherein said arcuate portion extends for substantially the entire axial length of said airfoil from said leading edge to said trailing edge.

16. The turbine blade of claim 14 wherein said arcuate portion extends for substantially less than the entire length of said airfoil from said leading edge to said trailing edge.

17. The turbine blade of claim 11 wherein said pressure side tip wall includes spaced-apart inner and outer surfaces joined by a radially-facing tip surface; and

a tip corner is defined at the junction of said outer surface and said tip surface.

18. The turbine blade of claim 17 wherein said tip corner extends past an outer surface of said pressure sidewall as measured in a circumferential direction.

19. The turbine blade of claim 17 wherein said tip corner does not extend past an outer surface of said pressure sidewall as measured in a circumferential direction.

20. The airfoil of claim 11 further comprising a plurality of second cooling holes disposed in said pressure sidewall and adapted to receive cooling air from a source and discharge it in a cooling film over said arcuate portion of said pressure side tip wall.