General Electric Company

Jason Douglas Herzlinger

Harish Bommanakatte

Anthony Louis Giglio

Jacob Charles Perry, Ii

James Rollins Maughan

Patrick Daniel Willson

William Scott Zemitis

Craig Allen Bielek

Mark Steven Honkomp

Bradley Taylor Boyer

Alexander Stein

Spencer Aaron Kareff

Paul Kendall Smith

Neil Devin Ristau

Jalindar Appa Walunj

Ariel Caesar Prepena Jacala

Matthew Durham Collier

Mehmet Suleyman Ciray

Jonathan Glenn Reed

Holly Renae Davis

Luis Manuel Herrera

An approach for supporting a wax pattern during investment casting. The approach described herein forms a support structure to support the wax pattern during investment casting. The support structure has a capping structure with a geometry that can match a profile of a lower region of the wax pattern, and at least one support brace extending outward from the support capping structure. The support structure can be placed on a surface of the lower region. The support capping structure can form a defined envelope to enclose the lower region of the wax pattern. The support structure is connected to a base plate by the support brace(s). The capping structure and the support brace(s) secure the wax pattern to the base plate and distribute the load of the wax pattern to maximize strength while minimizing the risk of a discontinuity in the wax or shell that could affect the casting process.

Apparatus for supporting wax pattern during investment casting

Method and apparatus for supporting wax pattern during investment casting

A turbine rotor blade is provided including an airfoil having an airfoil shape. The airfoil shape having a nominal profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in Table I wherein the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z are non-dimensional values from 0% to 100% convertible to dimensional distances in inches by multiplying the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z by a height of the airfoil in inches, and wherein X and Y are distances in inches which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z, the airfoil profile sections at Z distances being joined smoothly with one another to form a complete airfoil shape.

Airfoil shape for a turbine rotor blade

Turbine frequency tuning, fluid dynamic efficiency, and performance can be improved using a particular profile for a turn of a cooling passage in an airfoil. By blending aspects of baseline and bulb contours into a blended turn with a non-uniform profile, mechanical and/or thermal stress can be reduced in the turn and in an airfoil including the turn, particularly on an outflow side of the turn. Stresses on the airfoil can be reduced using a turn profile that is a blend of a baseline profile and a bulb profile and that can be described by the airfoil core profile.

Turbine bucket including cooling passage with turn

A rotor blade including an airfoil portion and a root portion, and an internal cooling circuit having flow passages in the root portion and the airfoil portion, wherein the internal cooling circuit includes: a first flow passage; and a non-integral plug. The plug may include a plug channel configured to correspond to a desired level of coolant flow through the first cooling passage. The plug may be connected to the rotor blade in a fixed blocking position relative to the first flow passage.

Interior cooling circuits in turbine blades

Various embodiments of the invention include turbine buckets and systems employing such buckets. Various particular embodiments include a turbine bucket having: a base including: a casing having at least one exhaust aperture on an outer surface of the casing; and a core within the casing, the core having: a serpentine cooling passage; and at least one outlet passage fluidly connected with the serpentine cooling passage and the exhaust aperture, wherein the at least one outlet passage permits flow of a coolant from the serpentine cooling passage to the at least one exhaust aperture on the outer surface of the casing; and an airfoil connected with the base at a first end of the airfoil, the airfoil including: 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.

Turbine bucket base having serpentine cooling passage with leading edge cooling

Turbine frequency tuning, fluid dynamic efficiency, and performance can be improved using an airfoil profile and/or an endwall contour including at least one of a pressure side bump, a pressure side leading edge bump, or a suction side trough. In particular, by including two endwall bumps on the pressure side and a trough on the suction side combined with a particular airfoil profile, performance can be further improved.

Turbine bucket with endwall contour and airfoil profile

Various embodiments of the invention include turbine buckets and systems employing such buckets. Various particular embodiments include a turbine bucket having: a base; and an airfoil connected with the base at a first end of the airfoil, the airfoil including: a casing 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, the casing including an aperture on the leading edge; and a core within the casing, the core having a serpentine shape for supporting the casing and a leading edge passage fluidly connected with the aperture on the leading edge of the casing.

Turbine bucket having serpentine core

An interior cooling configuration formed within an airfoil of a blade of a combustion turbine engine is provided. The interior cooling configuration may include a first flow passage and a second flow passage that have a side-by-side configuration for a segment, and multiple lateral crossover passages extending between and fluidly connecting the first flow passage to the second flow passage. The crossover passages may be staggered.

Interior configuration for turbine rotor blade

The present application provides a tip shroud assembly for use with a turbine engine. The tip shroud assembly may include a shroud, a seal rail positioned on the shroud, and a contoured fillet attaching the seal rail to the shroud.

Tip shroud assembly with contoured seal rail fillet

A turbine has blade assemblies disposed about a rotor. Each of the blade assemblies have an airfoil and a bucket. Pockets are defined at trailing and leading sides of the bucket, with damper pin slots at an ends thereof. The damper pin slot at the trailing side has a depth sufficient for fully receiving a damper pin. The damper pin slot at the trailing side of a first adjacent blade assembly is positioned relative to the damper pin slot at the leading side of a second adjacent blade assembly to allow the damper pin to move. At each side of the pocket at the trailing side is a seal pin slot with seal pins therein. The seal pin slots extend beyond a line that is aligned with an inner edge of the damper pin slot at the trailing side, wherein the seal pins overlap the damper pin.

Turbine blade assembly for retaining sealing and dampening elements

A turbine bucket is provided including a bucket airfoil having an airfoil shape, the bucket airfoil having a nominal profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in Table 1 wherein the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z are non-dimensional values from 0% to 100% convertible to dimensional distances in inches by multiplying the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z by a height of the airfoil in inches, and wherein X and Y are distances in inches which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z, the airfoil profile sections at Z distances being joined smoothly with one another to form a complete airfoil shape.

Growing community of inventors

Glenville, NY, United States of America

Jason Douglas Herzlinger