Abstract: A ring segment system (100) for a gas turbine engine (10) is disclosed. The ring segment system (100) may be formed from ring segments (50) that circumferentially surround a rotor assembly (40). The ring segments (50) may each include a carrier portion (34) that is coupled to a vane carrier (28), and a heat shielding portion (38) that is detachably coupled to the carrier portion (34). The detachable coupling may allow the heat shielding portion (38) to be uncoupled from the carrier portion (34) and removed from the gas turbine engine (10) axially. The ring segments (50) may further include cooling fluid supply channels (72) that allow cooling fluid to flow from a radially outward facing backside (42) of the ring segments (50) to a radially inward facing front side (46). Additionally, the ring segments (50) may also include ingestion prevention channels (76) that allow cooling fluid to create a barrier over the gap (80) between the ring segments (50) and the adjacent vane (18).

Abstract: A cooling system for a transition duct for routing a gas flow from a combustor to the first stage of a turbine section in a combustion turbine engine is disclosed. The transition duct may have a multi-panel outer wall formed from an inner panel having an inner surface that defines at least a portion of a hot gas path plenum and an intermediate panel positioned radially outward from the inner panel such that at least one cooling chamber is formed between the inner and intermediate panels. The transition duct may also include an outer panel. The inner, intermediate and outer panels may include one or more metering holes for passing cooling fluids between cooling chambers for cooling the panels. The intermediate and outer panels may be secured with an attachment system coupling the panels to the inner panel such that the intermediate and outer panels may move in-plane.

Abstract: A ring segment for a gas turbine engine includes a panel and a cooling system. The cooling system is provided within the panel and includes a cooling fluid supply trench having an open top portion and extending radially inwardly from a central recessed portion of the panel. The cooling system further includes a plurality of cooling fluid passages extending from the cooling fluid supply trench to a leading edge and/or a trailing edge of the panel. The cooling fluid passages receive cooling fluid from the cooling fluid supply trench, wherein the cooling fluid provides convective cooling to the panel as it passes through the cooling fluid passages.

Abstract: A ring segment for a gas turbine engine includes a panel and a cooling system. The cooling system is provided within the panel and includes an elongated intermediate plenum extending parallel to leading and trailing edges of the ring segment, and is located radially between an inner side of the panel and a hook structure extending from an outer side of the panel. A plurality of cooling fluid feed passages supply cooling fluid to the intermediate plenum, and a plurality of convective cooling passages extend through the panel from the intermediate plenum to one of the leading and trailing edges for cooling the inner side of the panel. The intermediate plenum is located in axial alignment with and defines an area of reduced thermal mass receiving impingement cooling adjacent to the hook structure.

Abstract: A ring segment for a gas turbine engine includes a panel and a cooling system. The cooling system is provided within the panel and includes a cooling fluid supply trench having an open top portion and extending radially inwardly from a central recessed portion of the panel. The cooling system further includes a plurality of cooling fluid passages extending from the cooling fluid supply trench to a leading edge and/or a trailing edge of the panel. The cooling fluid passages receive cooling fluid from the cooling fluid supply trench, wherein the cooling fluid provides convective cooling to the panel as it passes through the cooling fluid passages.

Abstract: A cooling system for a transition duct for routing a gas flow from a combustor to the first stage of a turbine section in a combustion turbine engine is disclosed. The transition duct may have a multi-panel outer wall formed from an inner panel having an inner surface that defines at least a portion of a hot gas path plenum and an intermediate panel positioned radially outward from the inner panel such that at least one cooling chamber is formed between the inner and intermediate panels. The transition duct may also include an outer panel. The inner, intermediate and outer panels may include one or more metering holes for passing cooling fluids between cooling chambers for cooling the panels. The intermediate and outer panels may be secured with an attachment system coupling the panels to the inner panel such that the intermediate and outer panels may move in-plane.

Abstract: The present invention is a process for designing the internal cooling passages with these small scale features using a meshed solid model in a FEA program to perform the CFD analysis. Instead of modeling these small scale features (cooling holes, impingement holes, and turbulators) in the meshed FEA solid model, most of the small scale features are replaced by grid extraneous source terms in which the small scale feature is eliminated from the solid model and replaced with point source terms. The source terms can duplicate the effect of the feature within the analysis without requiring the complex analysis that such features would require in the analysis. Text files for each of the cooling holes, impingement holes and turbulators are inputted and then translated into grid extraneous source terms that include position, energy, and continuity. A conjugate CFD solver performs an analysis and produces new values for the thermal and boundary conditions.

Abstract: A transition duct for conveying hot combustion gas from a combustor to a turbine in a gas turbine engine. The transition duct includes a panel including a middle subpanel, an inner subpanel spaced from an inner side of the middle subpanel to form an inner plenum, and an outer subpanel spaced from an outer side of the middle subpanel to form an outer plenum. The outer subpanel includes a plurality of outer diffusion holes to meter cooling air into the outer plenum. The middle subpanel includes a plurality of effusion holes to allow cooling air to flow from the outer plenum to the inner plenum. The inner subpanel includes a plurality of film holes for passing a flow of cooling air from the inner plenum through the film holes into an axial gas flow path adjacent to the inner side of the inner subpanel.

Abstract: A transition duct for conveying hot combustion gas from a combustor to a turbine in a gas turbine engine. The transition duct includes a panel including a middle subpanel, an inner subpanel spaced from an inner side of the middle subpanel to form an inner plenum, and an outer subpanel spaced from an outer side of the middle subpanel to form an outer plenum. The outer subpanel includes a plurality of outer diffusion holes to meter cooling air into the outer plenum. The middle subpanel includes a plurality of effusion holes to allow cooling air to flow from the outer plenum to the inner plenum. The inner subpanel includes a plurality of film holes for passing a flow of cooling air from the inner plenum through the film holes into an axial gas flow path adjacent to the inner side of the inner subpanel.

Abstract: A turbine airfoil used in a gas turbine engine includes a plurality of cavities opening in a direction facing the airfoil surface, each cavity having cooling holes communicating with an internal cooling fluid passage of the airfoil, and the airfoil surface above the cavity being a thermal barrier coating and having a plurality of cooling holes communicating with the cavity, where each cavity is filled with a porous metal or foam metal material. Heat is transferred from the airfoil surface to the porous metal, and a cooling fluid passing through the porous metal attracts heat from the porous metal and flows out the holes and onto the airfoil surface to cool the airfoil.

Abstract: An air cooled airfoil for use in a gas turbine engine includes a base, a porous material on the base, and a thermal barrier coating (TBC) applied to the porous material, with cooling holes in the base and the TBC to allow for cooling air to flow from within the airfoil to the surface of the airfoil, and where the porous material has a higher density near the TBC interface than at the base interface. The higher density at the TBC interface provides for a rigid support structure for the TBC as well as higher heat transfer than would the lower density porous material near the base, the lower density porous material near the base acting to reduce heat transfer to the base and therefore promote heat transfer into the cooling air passing through the porous material and out onto the airfoil surface. An additional embodiment includes an airfoil having a plurality of outward facing cavities, each cavity being filled with a porous material having varying density and covered with a TBC layer.

Abstract: An internally-cooled turbomachine element has an airfoil extending between inboard and outboard ends. A cooling passageway is at least partially within the airfoil and has at least a first turn. Means are in the passageway for limiting a turning a loss of the first turn. The turbomachine element may result from a reengineering of an existing element configuration lacking such means.

Abstract: The airfoil shaped body has a separate leading edge portion (14) spaced from the main body (12). Slots (22) thereby formed discharge cooling air parallel to surface (38) of the main body. A step change across the slot between the leading edge surface (52) and the main body surface (38) facilitates smooth introduction of cooling air.

Abstract: A turbine blade is formed from an airfoil blade 10 having V-grooves 12 in the outer surface and indentations 26 in the inner surface. A slot 30 is machined at the root of the groove intersecting the slots, and providing a smooth flow path for the cooling air discharging along the blade surface.

Abstract: A hollow, cooled airfoil has a pair of nested, coolant channels therein which carry separate coolant flows back and forth across the span of the airfoil in adjacent parallel paths. The coolant in both channels flows from a rearward to forward location within the airfoil allowing the coolant to be ejected from the airfoil near the leading edge through film coolant holes.