Abstract: In order to facilitate efficient use of high pressure cooling air in a turbine rotor blade its aerofoil has a triple-pass convoluted cooling air duct in its leading edge region, and a triple-pass convoluted cooling air duct in its mid-chord region, both of them being fed from a common high pressure inlet in the root of the blade. The trailing edge region has a single-pass duct fed by low pressure cooling air from an inlet located just under the blade platform. The shroud of the blade also has cooling air passages and these are fed from the ends of respective ones of the ducts. Air from the ducts also exits through rows of film cooling holes to film cool the concave flank of the aerofoil and through a row of holes in its trailing edge to remove heat from the thinner metal section in that area.

Abstract: A multidrop network for effecting communications between a master site and a plurality of remote slave sites employs a multiport multiplexer at the master site and at slave sites, for interfacing multiple ports to a single telephone communication link. At the master site multiple/diverse types of data/signal processing equipments are coupled to respective ports of a master communications multiplexer or concentrator. Under internal processor control the master concentrator interfaces one of its input ports to an associated communications modem by way of which messages are exchanged over the telephone link. That input port of the master concentrator which is interfaced to its associated modem establishes a corresponding destination port of each remote concentrator that is coupled to a respective drop distributed along the telephone link.

Abstract: The cooling air from the nozzle guide vanes of a gas turbine engine is discharged from one or both platforms to discourage leakage flow between rotating and static components of the engine.In the case of the outboard platform the cooling air is discharged towards the engine casing to flow through the clearance between the shroud of the engine casing and the shroud of the turbine blades. This arrangement reduces the leakage flow of gas from the main gas stream and assists in reducing casing temperatures.