A cooled blade for a gas turbine is disclosed.
Such a blade is known generally, for example, from the publication U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,400, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In modern high efficiency gas turbines, shrouded blades are employed which, during operation, are subjected to hot gases with temperatures of more than 1200°K and pressures of more than 6 bar.
A basic configuration of a shrouded blade is shown in
Because the coolant passes once through the serpentine-type sequentially connected coolant ducts 13, 14, 15, the coolant flows with increasing temperature through the coolant ducts and attains the maximum temperature in the last, trailing edge 20 coolant duct 15. The trailing edge 20 of the blade 10 can therefore, under certain operating conditions, attain excessively high coolant and blade material or metal temperatures. An incorrect matching of the metal temperature over the axial length of the blade can lead to high temperature creep and, in consequence, to deformation of the trailing edge 20. In the case of a shrouded blade, such as is shown in
In the publication U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,400, cited at the beginning, a blade cooling supply has been proposed for blades with cooled tips and finely distributed cooling openings at the leading edge (film cooling). An ejector is arranged transverse to the flow direction of the main cooling flow at the end of a 90° deflection of the main cooling flow and, through this ejector, an additional flow of cooler coolant is injected into the coolant duct which runs along the trailing edge. The ejector can be supplied with coolant via a duct running radially through the root. The coolant emerging from the nozzle of the ejector with increased velocity can generate a depression, which can draw heated coolant from the coolant duct of the leading edge into the coolant duct of the trailing edge. Approximately 45% of the coolant flowing along the leading edge emerges through the cooling openings on the leading edge. 40% is induced by the injector. The rest emerges through cooling openings at the blade tip.
Due to the injector, the pressure relationships and flow relationships in the coolant duct can change relative to a configuration with simple supply through the inlet of the coolant duct on the leading edge. A balance between the coolant emerging at the leading edge for film cooling and the coolant induced by the injector will likely not exist, absent a completely new blade cooling design layout, which can be difficult to match to the changing requirements. The injector principle and the associated generation of depression are not suitable for blades without leading edge film cooling and blades with cooled shroud.
A blade is disclosed which may be applied in shrouded or non-shrouded blades, such as blades comprising a cooled shroud, and without consideration whether film cooling of the leading edge is present or not. Already existing blades may easily be modified with the described blade.
In an exemplary blade, a supplemental coolant flow is branched off directly from the main coolant inlet and is fed into the coolant duct extending along the trailing edge via an orifice extending between the main coolant inlet and the second deflection region. The orifice may be a bore or a drilling, or may be cast. Because the flow of the coolant is branched off from the main cooling flow by the bypass orifice and is later fed back to it, the coolant flow remains unchanged overall.
An exemplary embodiment includes an orifice formed and arranged in such a way that the coolant flowing through the orifice flows directly through the second deflection region into the second coolant duct. This can provide a particularly efficient temperature reduction, due to the bypass flow, in the coolant duct of the trailing edge.
Exemplary embodiments are explained in more detail below, in association with the drawings, wherein
An exemplary embodiment of a cooled gas turbine blade with a plurality of coolant supply is shown in
A part of the coolant flowing into the main coolant inlet 16 is branched off by an orifice 23 and supplied via the second deflection region 18 to the coolant duct 15 at the trailing edge. The orifice 23 can be configured and arranged in such a way (i.e. obliquely upward in the present case) that the coolant flow through it is guided without deviations directly into the coolant duct 15. The bypass orifice 23 can introduce cooler coolant directly into the trailing edge region of the blade 10.
Further orifices 27, 28, 29 can be provided in the shroud section 21 of the blade 10 (FIGS. 3 to 6). The coolant emerging through the orifices 27, 28, 29 can be used for the active cooling of the shroud section 21. The cooling orifices 27, 28, 29 in the shroud section 21 can have an internal diameter in the range between 0.6 mm and 4 mm. All three orifices 27, 28, 29 are positioned and dimensioned on the shroud section 21 in such a way that a non-uniform jet penetration takes place into the main flow of the shroud cavity.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restricted. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and range and equivalence thereof are intended to be embraced therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2004 002 327.1 | Jan 2004 | DE | national |
The present application is a continuation application under 35 U.S.C. §120 of PCT/EP2005/050137 filed Jan. 14, 2005, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to German Application No. 10 2004 002 327.1 filed Jan. 16, 2004, the contents of both documents being incorporated hereby by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP05/50137 | Jan 2005 | US |
Child | 11483091 | Jul 2006 | US |