Turbine airfoil vane with an impingement insert having a plurality of impingement nozzles

Abstract

A turbine airfoil vane usable in a turbine engine and including at least one cooling system with an impingement plate having one or more impingement nozzles is disclosed. The turbine vane impingement nozzles may extend towards an outer wall forming the turbine vane and may reduce the mixing of cooling fluids and impingement jets found in conventional configurations. Instead, the nozzles terminate within close proximity of the outer wall, thereby reducing the effect of cooling fluid cross flow.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A turbine vane, comprising:
 a generally elongated hollow airfoil formed from an outer wall, and having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, a suction side, an outer endwall at a first end, an inner endwall at a second end opposite the first end, and a cooling system positioned within the generally elongated airfoil; and   at least one impingement insert positioned in internal aspects of a central cooling chamber of the cooling system;   wherein the impingement insert includes a plurality of impingement nozzles extending toward an inner surface of the outer wall from an impingement plate, wherein each nozzle includes at least one impingement orifice.   
     
     
         2 . The turbine vane of  claim 1 , wherein a distance between the at least one impingement orifice and the inner surface of the outer wall is less than a conventional distance between a conventional impingement plate with holes and an outer wall of a conventional vane. 
     
     
         3 . The turbine vane of  claim 2 , wherein a distance between the impingement plate and the inner surface of the outer wall is greater than a conventional distance between the conventional impingement plate with holes and the outer wall of the conventional vane. 
     
     
         4 . The turbine vane of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the impingement nozzles is generally cylindrical. 
     
     
         5 . The turbine vane of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of impingement nozzles are generally cylindrical. 
     
     
         6 . The turbine vane of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the impingement nozzles is generally conical. 
     
     
         7 . The turbine vane of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of impingement nozzles are generally conical. 
     
     
         8 . The turbine vane of  claim 1 , wherein each nozzle includes at least one impingement orifice positioned at an outermost aspect of the nozzle for directing cooling fluids orthogonally away from the impingement plate. 
     
     
         9 . The turbine vane of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of nozzles has a cross-sectional area selected from the group consisting of a cylinder, a rectangle, a triangle and a semicircle. 
     
     
         10 . A turbine vane, comprising:
 a generally elongated hollow airfoil formed from an outer wall, and having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, a suction side, an outer endwall at a first end, an inner endwall at a second end opposite the first end, and a cooling system positioned within the generally elongated airfoil; and   at least one impingement insert positioned in internal aspects of a central cooling chamber of the cooling system;   wherein the impingement insert includes a plurality of impingement nozzles extending toward an inner surface of the outer wall from an impingement plate, wherein each nozzle includes at least one impingement orifice;   wherein a distance between the at least one impingement orifice and the inner surface of the outer wall is less than a conventional distance between a conventional impingement plate with holes and an outer wall of a conventional vane;   wherein a distance between the impingement plate and the inner surface of the outer wall is greater than a conventional distance between the conventional impingement plate with holes and the outer wall of the conventional vane.   
     
     
         11 . The turbine vane of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the impingement nozzles is generally cylindrical. 
     
     
         12 . The turbine vane of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of impingement nozzles are generally cylindrical. 
     
     
         13 . The turbine vane of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the impingement nozzles is generally conical. 
     
     
         14 . The turbine vane of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of impingement nozzles are generally conical. 
     
     
         15 . The turbine vane of  claim 10 , wherein each nozzle includes at least one impingement orifice positioned at an outermost aspect of the nozzle for directing cooling fluids orthogonally away from the impingement plate. 
     
     
         16 . The turbine vane of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of nozzles has a cross-sectional area selected from the group consisting of a cylinder, a rectangle, a triangle and a semicircle. 
     
     
         17 . A turbine vane, comprising:
 a generally elongated hollow airfoil formed from an outer wall, and having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, a suction side, an outer endwall at a first end, an inner endwall at a second end opposite the first end, and a cooling system positioned within the generally elongated airfoil; and   at least one impingement insert positioned in internal aspects of a central cooling chamber of the cooling system;   wherein the impingement insert includes a plurality of impingement nozzles extending toward an inner surface of the outer wall from an impingement plate, wherein each nozzle includes at least one impingement orifice;   wherein a distance between the at least one impingement orifice and the inner surface of the outer wall is less than a conventional distance between a conventional impingement plate with holes and an outer wall of a conventional vane;   wherein a distance between the impingement plate and the inner surface of the outer wall is greater than a conventional distance between the conventional impingement plate with holes and the outer wall of the conventional vane;   wherein each nozzle includes at least one impingement orifice positioned at an outermost aspect of the nozzle for directing cooling fluids orthogonally away from the impingement plate.   
     
     
         18 . The turbine vane of  claim 17 , wherein at least one of the plurality of nozzles has a cross-sectional area selected from the group consisting of a cylinder, a rectangle, a triangle and a semicircle. 
     
     
         19 . The turbine vane of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of impingement nozzles are generally cylindrical. 
     
     
         20 . The turbine vane of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of impingement nozzles are generally conical.