Closed circuit steam cooled bucket
US5536143A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 31, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jul 16, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF05D2260/2212
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
In a gas turbine bucket having a shank portion, a radial tip portion and an airfoil having leading and trailing edges and pressure and suction surfaces, and an internal fluid cooling circuit, an improvement wherein the internal fluid cooling circuit has a serpentine configuration including plural radial outflow passages and plural radial inflow passages. The radial outflow passages, in one example, are shaped to have aspect ratios of about 3.3 to 1 and Buoyancy Numbers of <0.15 or >0.80. A method of determining a configuration for steam cooling passages for a bucket stage in a gas turbine is also provided which includes, in one example, the steps of: PA1 a) determining combustion gas inlet temperature and mass flow rate of combustion gases passing through the gas turbine stage; PA1 b) taking into account Coriolis and buoyancy secondary flow effects in the steam coolant caused by rotation of the bucket stage; and PA1 c) configuring the radial outflow coolant passages to have a size and shape sufficient to produce aspect ratios of about 3.3 to 1 and Buoyancy Numbers in the radial outflow passages of <0.15 or >0.80.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.