Multi-metered film cooled blade tip

• US 20040179940A1
• Filed: 12/19/2003
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc. (Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc. (Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Incorporated)
• Inventors: Liang, George
• Granted Patent: US 6,971,851 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 416/97R
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/08 Heating, heat-insulating or cooling means specially adapted for radial flow machines or engines F01D5/04
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/186 Film cooling F01D5/187 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/20 Specially-shaped blade tips to seal space between tips and stator F01D5/225 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/202 by film cooling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A rotating blade for a gas turbine engine is provided which is configured to uniformly diffuse cooling air from an internal cavity about the tip of the rotating blade. The rotating blade includes a secondary cavity interposed between an internal cavity and the peripheral edge of the blade tip, wherein the secondary cavity steps down the cooling air pressure, decreasing the momentum of the cooling air exiting the rotating blade tip. The cooling air is diffused about the tip of the rotating blade into cooling slots aligned along the peripheral edge, such that a sub-boundary layer of cooling air is built-up adjacent to surface of the airfoil.

Claims

1. A turbomachinery blade, comprising:

an airfoil section having proximal and distal end portions and defining an internal cavity and an outer aerodynamic surface having a distal edge circumscribing the distal end portion, the distal end portion further defining

at least one each of a first and a second metering orifice, and

at least one metering cavity,

the internal cavity, the at least one first metering orifice, the at least one metering cavity, and the at least one second metering orifice sequentially defining a fluid passage from the internal cavity to the distal edge.

2. The blade of claim 1,

wherein the fluid passage includes at least one cooling slot defined by the distal end portion of the airfoil section, the at least one cooling slot being disposed along a portion of the distal edge and downstream of the at least one second metering orifice.

3. The blade of claim 1,

wherein the distal edge is distal to the at least one first and second metering orifices and the at least one metering cavity, the distal edge comprising a sharp angular lip having an acute angle.

4. The blade of claim 3,

wherein the outer aerodynamic surface of the airfoil section circumscribes a maximum cross-sectional span of the airfoil section, and the distal edge circumscribes a maximum cross-sectional span of the distal end portion, the maximum cross-sectional span of the distal end portion being larger than the maximum cross-sectional span of the airfoil section.

5. The blade of claim 2, wherein the distal end portion of the airfoil section further defines a plurality of first metering orifices and a plurality of second metering orifices, and

wherein each of the plurality of first metering orifices defines a fluid passage from the internal cavity to the at least one metering cavity, and each of the plurality of second metering orifices defines a fluid passage from the at least one metering cavity to the at least one cooling slot.

6. The blade of claim 5, wherein the plurality of first metering orifices includes a range of two to four first metering orifices, and the plurality of second metering orifices includes a range of four to eight second metering orifices, the second metering orifices each having a diameter, the second metering orifices being spaced apart by a spacing equal to a range of two to four diameters.

7. The blade of claim 5, wherein the plurality of first metering orifices includes three first metering orifices, and wherein the plurality of second metering orifices includes six second metering orifices.

8. The blade of claim 1, wherein each metering cavity has a volume, and wherein the internal cavity has a volume at least ten times greater that the volume of any metering cavity.

9. The blade of claim 1, wherein the distal end portion further includes a squealer tip defining a squealer tip cavity.

10. The blade of claim 9, wherein the distal end portion further defines at least one aperture fluidly connecting the internal cavity to the squealer tip cavity.

11. The blade of claim 1, wherein the at least one first metering orifice defines a first central flow axis and the at least one second metering orifice defines a second central flow axis, the first central flow axis being offset from the second central flow axis.

12. The blade of claim 11, wherein the first central flow axis is parallel to the second central flow axis.

13. The blade of claim 1, wherein the at least one first metering orifice has a first cross-sectional area and the at least one second metering orifice has a second cross-sectional area, the first cross-sectional area being greater than the second cross-sectional area.

14. The blade of claim 13, wherein the distal end portion defines a plurality of first metering orifices, a plurality of second metering orifices, a plurality of metering cavities, and a plurality of cooling slots, and

wherein the distal end portion of the airfoil section further defines a plurality of discrete cooling cells, each having at least two of the plurality of first metering orifices, at least two of the plurality of second metering orifices, one of the plurality of metering cavities and one of the plurality of cooling slots.

15. The blade of claim 14, wherein each cooling slot of each cooling cell is disposed along a unique discrete portion of the distal edge of the outer aerodynamic surface of the airfoil section.

16. The blade of claim 14, wherein each metering cavity has a volume, and wherein the internal cavity has a volume at least ten times greater that the volume of any metering cavity.

17. The blade of claim 14, wherein the distal end portion further includes a squealer tip defining a squealer tip cavity.

18. The blade of claim 14, wherein the distal end portion further defines at least one aperture fluidly connecting the internal cavity to the squealer tip cavity.

19. The blade of claim 1, further comprising a root section adjacent the proximal end portion of the airfoil section for attaching the blade to a rotor disk.

20. A gas turbine engine blade, comprising:

a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, and an airfoil section therebetween, the airfoil section having an outer aerodynamic surface and defining an internal cavity, the distal end portion including

a distal end surface of the blade, the distal end surface being substantially disposed on a longitudinal cross-section to the airfoil section,

a distal edge, the distal edge being a perimeter outline of the distal end surface,

a means for metering cooling fluid to flow from the internal cavity to a plurality of diffusion cooling slots defined along the distal edge by a plurality of discrete adjoining portions of the distal end surface and the outer aerodynamic surface.

21. The blade of claim 20, further comprising:

a squealer tip defining a squealer cavity disposed on the distal end portion,

a means for metering cooling fluid to flow from the internal cavity to the squealer cavity.

22. The blade of claim 20, further comprising:

a means for attaching the proximal end portion of the blade to a rotor disk.

23. A method for cooling a turbomachine blade, comprising the steps of:

supplying cooling fluid into an internal cavity defined by an exterior wall of the blade, the exterior wall having an outer aerodynamic surface and a distal end surface, the outer aerodynamic surface and a distal end surface intersecting to form a distal edge surrounding the distal end surface,

metering the cooling fluid through a first metering orifice from the internal cavity into an metering cavity proximate the distal edge and defined by the exterior wall of the blade,

metering the cooling fluid through a second metering orifice from the metering cavity into a cooling slot defined by and along a portion of the distal edge.