General Electric Company

Christopher William Kester

Gregory Thomas Foster

Robert Alan Brittingham

Bradley Taylor Boyer

Melbourne James Myers

Richard Ryan Pilson

Alexander Stein

Mark Andrew Jones

Martin James Jasper

Matthew Durham Collier

Lee Larned Brozyna

Jan Emeric Agudo

An airfoil includes a root and a tip, which define a span of the airfoil therebetween. The airfoil also includes a leading edge and a trailing edge downstream of the leading edge along a flow direction. The leading edge and the trailing edge each extend across the span of the airfoil from the root to the tip. The airfoil further includes a pressure side surface and a suction side surface. The airfoil also includes a thermal barrier coating on the pressure side surface and the suction side surface. The thermal barrier coating includes a base layer and a top coat. A thickness of the base layer varies across each of the pressure side surface and the suction side surface with a maximum thickness of the base layer at the leading edge.

Turbomachine airfoil having a variable thickness thermal barrier coating

A rotor blade for use in combustion turbine engine. The rotor blade may include: an airfoil assembled from two radially stacked non-integral sections in which a body section resides inboard of a cap section; an outboard tip of the airfoil that is enclosed by a tip plate having a tip rail; and a cooling configuration that includes cooling channels for directing a coolant through the rotor blade. Each of the cooling channels may include segments, in which: a supply segment extends radially through the airfoil, the supply segment being radially defined between a floor and ceiling; a rail segment extends through an interior of the tip rail; and a connecting segment extends between the supply segment and rail segment. For each of the one or more cooling channels, the ceiling of the supply segment may be defined within the cap section of the airfoil.

Interior cooling configurations in turbine blades and methods of manufacture relating thereto

A turbine blade is provided and includes pressure and suction surfaces connected to define an interior through which coolant is passable and first and second pedestal arrays, each of the first and second pedestal arrays including pedestals respectively coupled to radially outboard portions of respective interior faces of one of the pressure and suction surfaces. The pedestals of the first pedestal array are separated from pedestals of the second pedestal array by gaps respectively defined therebetween.

Turbine blade with sectioned pins

Various embodiments of the invention include turbine buckets and systems employing such buckets. Various particular embodiments include a turbine bucket having: an airfoil having: a suction side; a pressure side opposing the suction side; a leading edge spanning between the pressure side and the suction side; and a trailing edge opposing the leading edge and spanning between the pressure side and the suction side; and a base connected with a first end of the airfoil along the suction side, pressure side, trailing edge and the leading edge, the base including a non-axisymmetric contour proximate a junction between the base and the airfoil.

Turbine bucket having non-axisymmetric base contour

Growing community of inventors

Greenville, SC, United States of America

Christopher William Kester