Power turbine cooling air metering ring

1. A power turbine section for a gas turbine engine comprising:

a bearing support having a first end with an aperture therethrough, the bearing support coupled to a power turbine vane array within the power turbine section at the first end; and

a heat shield assembly directly mounted to said bearing support, the heat shield assembly including a heat shield and a metering ring, wherein the heat shield and the metering ring completely bound a first annular compartment and the heat shield, metering ring and bearing support bound a second annular compartment;

wherein the heat shield includes an aperture in fluid communication with said aperture in the bearing support at the first end.

2. The power turbine section as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a metering ring, wherein said metering ring is disposed between said first annular compartment and said second annular compartment.

3. The power turbine section as recited in claim 2 , wherein said metering ring includes a multiple of apertures to communicate cooling flow from said first annular compartment to said second annular compartment.

4. The power turbine section as recited in claim 3 , wherein said apertures are sized to permit the cooling flow to disperse around said first annular compartment before communication to said second annular compartment.

5. The power turbine section as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a fitting to communicate cooling airflow into said aperture of said heat shield.

6. The power turbine section as recited in claim 5 , further comprising an air strut in airflow communication with said fitting.

7. The power turbine section as recited in claim 6 , wherein said air strut comprises more than one passage, at least one of said more than one passage in airflow communication with said heat shield assembly.

8. The power turbine section as recited in claim 7 , wherein said more than one passage is in airflow communication with a compressor section.

9. The power turbine section as recited in claim 8 , wherein said bearing support is a #7 bearing support.

10. The power turbine section as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first annular compartment and the second annular compartment extend longitudinally across at least a portion of a longitudinal length of the bearing support.

11. A power turbine section for a gas turbine engine comprising:

an inlet case along an axis;

a power turbine vane array mounted to said inlet case;

a bearing support mounted to said power turbine vane array at a first coupling;

a heat shield mounted to said bearing support at a second coupling proximate a first end of the heat shield and extending radially outward toward the first coupling at a second end of the heat shield; and

a metering ring mounted to said bearing support to form a first annular compartment completely bounded by said heat shield and said metering ring, and a second annular compartment between said metering ring and said bearing support.

12. The power turbine section as recited in claim 11 , wherein said metering ring comprises a multiple of apertures to communicate cooling flow from said first annular compartment to said second annular compartment.

13. The power turbine section as recited in claim 12 , wherein said apertures are sized to permit the cooling flow to disperse around said first annular compartment before communication to said second annular compartment.

14. The power turbine section as recited in claim 11 , further comprising a fitting to communicate cooling airflow into said heat shield assembly.

15. The power turbine section as recited in claim 14 , further comprising an air strut mounted to said inlet case transverse to an inlet duct that defines a core flow path, said air strut including a passage in airflow communication with said fitting.

16. The power turbine section as recited in claim 11 , wherein said bearing support is a #7 bearing support.

17. The power turbine section as recited in claim 16 , wherein said gas turbine engine is an industrial gas turbine engine within a ground mounted enclosure.

18. The power turbine section as recited in claim 11 , wherein the metering ring is mounted to said bearing support at the second coupling.

19. A method of communicating a cooling airflow within a power turbine, comprising:

communicating the cooling airflow from a compressor section through an air strut that extends through an inlet case and an inlet duct;

communicating the cooling airflow into a first annular compartment between a heat shield and a metering ring that are both mounted to a stationary bearing support; and

communicating the cooling airflow from the first annular compartment through the metering ring into a second annular compartment between the metering ring and the bearing support;

wherein the cooling airflow is communicated radially outward through the first annular compartment and the second annular compartment.

20. The method as recited in claim 19 , further comprising sizing a multiple of apertures in the metering ring to permit the cooling air to disperse within the first annular compartment before the communication to the second annular compartment.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 , further comprising communicating the cooling airflow from the second annular compartment to a core flow path through the bearing support subsequent to the communicating the cooing airflow through the metering ring into the second annular compartment.