Solar Turbines Inc.

Stephen Edward Pointon

Andrew T Meier

Nnawuihe Asonye Okpara

Kevin K Hirako

Jiang Luo

Hans D Hamm

Jeffrey Stephen Carullo

Daniel Martinez

A turbine blade having a base and an airfoil, the base including cooling air inlets and an internal cooling air passageway, and the airfoil including an internal multi-bend heat exchange path beginning at the base and ending at a cooling air outlet at the trailing edge of the airfoil. The airfoil also includes a 'skin' that encompasses a tip wall, an inner spar, and a tip flag cooling system.

Turbine blade cooling system with lower turning vane bank

Turbine blade cooling system with channel transition

Turbine blade cooling system with tip flag transition

Turbine blade cooling system with upper turning vane bank

Turbine blade cooling system with tip diffuser

A method of manufacturing a cooled turbine blade for use in a gas turbine engine. The method includes forming an inner blade pattern, the inner blade pattern including an inner spar and a plurality of inner spar cooling fins. The method also includes forming an inner blade core, removing the inner blade pattern from the inner blade core, forming an outer blade pattern, forming a casting shell, removing the outer blade pattern from the casting shell, and casting the cooled turbine blade in the casting shell. The method also includes removing the casting shell from the cast cooled turbine blade, and removing the inner blade core from the cast cooled turbine blade.

Method of manufacturing a cooled turbine blade with dense cooling fin array

A cooled turbine blade having a base and an airfoil, the base including cooling air inlet and an internal cooling air passageway, and the airfoil including an internal heat exchange path beginning at the base and ending at a cooling air outlet at the trailing edge of the airfoil. The airfoil also includes a 'skin' that encompasses a tip wall, an inner spar, a leading edge rib, and a leading edge air deflector. The leading edge rib is configured to form a leading edge chamber in conjunction with the leading edge of the skin. The leading edge air deflector is shaped and positioned such that cooling air leaving the leading edge chamber is both turned and diffused.

Cooled turbine blade with leading edge flow redirection and diffusion

A cooled turbine blade having a base and an airfoil, the base including cooling air inlet and an internal cooling air passageway, and the airfoil including an internal heat exchange path beginning at the base and ending at a cooling air outlet at the trailing edge of the airfoil. The airfoil also includes a 'skin' that encompasses a tip wall, an inner spar, a plurality of trailing edge cooling fins, and a perforated first and second trailing edge rib configured to meter cooling air passing there thorough.

Cooled turbine blade with trailing edge flow metering

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Santee, CA, United States of America

Stephen Edward Pointon