Turbine airfoil cooling passage with diamond turbulator

Abstract

A turbulator having a diamond-shaped configuration where a front portion of the turbulator is a mirror image of a rear portion of the turbulator, and where the turbulator has application for cooling flow channels in a blade of a gas turbine engine. An array of the diamond-shaped turbulators is positioned in rows relative to the flow of the cooling air so that a turbulator in one of the rows is positioned relative to the gap between two turbulators in an adjacent row to break up the flow of air flowing between the turbulators.

1 . A blade for a gas turbine engine, said blade comprising:
 an outer housing wall defining an enclosure;   a plurality of ribs extending at least a portion of a length of the blade within the enclosure and defining at least one flow channel that allows a cooling airflow to flow from a proximal end to a distal end of the enclosure; and   a plurality of spaced apart diamond-shaped turbulators each having a peak and being formed to an inside surface of the outer housing wall and extending into the flow channel, said plurality of diamond-shape turbulators being formed in an array of rows where a turbulator in one row is positioned relative to a gap between adjacent turbulators in an adjacent row such that a turbulated airflow is created that eliminates the interaction between old air vortices and newly formed air vorticies.   
     
     
         2 . The blade according to  claim 1  wherein a front portion of each turbulator is a mirror image of a back portion of each turbulator. 
     
     
         3 . The blade according to  claim 1  wherein each turbulator includes a pointed peak. 
     
     
         4 . The blade according to  claim 1  wherein the blade is part of a second row of blades in a turbine section of the gas turbine engine. 
     
     
         5 . The blade according to  claim 1  wherein each turbulator is formed from a metal. 
     
     
         6 . The blade according to  claim 1  wherein the at least one flow channel is a serpentine flow channel. 
     
     
         7 . A diamond-shaped turbulator formed to an inside surface of an outer housing wall of a flow channel of a blade for a gas turbine engine, said diamond-shaped turbulator creating a turbulated airflow in a cooling flow channel, said turbulator having a diamond-shape defining a pointed peak where a front portion of the turbulator and a back portion of the turbulator are mirror images of each other. 
     
     
         8 . The turbulator according to  claim 7  wherein the turbulator is part of an array of turbulators arranged in rows in the cooling channel where a turbulator in one row is positioned relative to a gap between adjacent turbulators in an adjacent row. 
     
     
         9 . The turbulator according to  claim 7  wherein the cooling fluid flow channel is provided within a blade for a gas turbine engine. 
     
     
         10 . The turbulator according to  claim 9  wherein the blade is part of a second row of blades in a turbine section of the gas turbine engine. 
     
     
         11 . The turbulator according to  claim 9  wherein the cooling fluid flow channel is a serpentine flow channel. 
     
     
         12 . The turbulator according to  claim 7  wherein the turbulator is formed from a metal. 
     
     
         13 . A gas turbine engine comprising:
 an outer housing;   a compressor section being operable to produce a compressed air flow;   a combustion section in fluid communication with the compressor section that receives a combustion portion of the compressed air flow, said combustion section mixing the combustion portion of the compressed air flow with a fuel and combusting the mixture to produce a hot working gas; and   a turbine section in fluid communication with the combustion section, said turbine section receiving the hot working gas, said turbine section including a plurality of rows of vanes and a plurality of rows of blades, wherein at least some of the blades include an outer housing wall defining an enclosure, a plurality of ribs extending at least a portion of a length of the blade within the enclosure and defining at least one flow channel that allows a cooling airflow to flow from a proximal end to a distal end of the enclosure, and a plurality of spaced apart diamond-shaped turbulators each having a peak and being formed to an inside surface of the outer housing wall and extending into the flow channel, said plurality of diamond-shape turbulators being formed in an array of rows where a turbulator in one row is positioned relative to a gap between adjacent turbulators in an adjacent row such that a turbulated airflow is created that eliminates the interaction between old air vortices and newly formed air vorticies.   
     
     
         14 . The gas turbine engine according to  claim 13  wherein a front portion of each turbulator is a mirror image of a back portion of each turbulator. 
     
     
         15 . The gas turbine engine according to  claim 13  wherein each turbulator includes a pointed peak. 
     
     
         16 . The gas turbine engine according to  claim 13  wherein the at least some of the blades are part of a second row of blades in the turbine section. 
     
     
         17 . The gas turbine engine according to  claim 13  wherein each turbulator is formed from a metal. 
     
     
         18 . The gas turbine engine according to  claim 13  wherein the at least one flow channel is a serpentine flow channel.