Methods and apparatuses for providing film cooling to turbine components

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for film cooling of one or more turbine components are provided. A cooling gas flow passage provides a cooling gas to an turbine component with the hot gas path of a turbine. The cooling gas flow passage includes at least one feed aperture operable to receive cooling gas from at least one cooling gas compartment associated with a turbine component. The cooling gas flow passage also includes at least one slot with a converging portion having a first opening and a second opening, where the first opening receives the cooling gas from the feed aperture, and the second opening provides the cooling gas to at least a portion of an outer surface of the turbine component.

1 . A cooling gas flow passage for use with a turbine, the cooling gas flow passage comprising:
 at least one feed aperture operable to receive cooling gas from at least one cooling gas compartment associated with a turbine component; and   at least one slot comprising a converging portion with a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening receives the cooling gas from the feed aperture, and wherein the second opening provides the cooling gas to at least a portion of an outer surface of the turbine component.   
   
   
       2 . The cooling gas flow passage of  claim 1 , wherein an angle formed between the at least one feed aperture and the at least one slot is in the range of approximately 30 degrees to approximately 180 degrees. 
   
   
       3 . The cooling gas flow passage of  claim 1 , wherein the converging portion facilitates normalizing a flow associated with the cooling gas received from the at least one feed aperture. 
   
   
       4 . The cooling gas flow passage of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one slot further comprises:
 a diverging portion extending between the converging portion and the outer surface of the turbine component,   wherein the diverging portion facilitates decreasing the velocity of the cooling gas provided to the outer surface of the turbine component.   
   
   
       5 . The cooling gas flow passage of  claim 4 , wherein a length of the converging portion is approximately equal to a length of the diverging portion. 
   
   
       6 . The cooling gas flow passage of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an expansion cavity provided between the at least one feed aperture and the converging portion.   
   
   
       7 . The cooling gas flow passage of  claim 5 , wherein a diameter associated with the expansion cavity is approximately two to approximately six times greater than a diameter associated with the at least one feed aperture. 
   
   
       8 . The cooling gas flow passage of  claim 1 , wherein a length of the at least one slot is approximately seven times to approximately ten times a length of the at least one feed aperture. 
   
   
       9 . A cooled turbine component, comprising:
 an outer surface adapted to be exposed to a hot gas stream;   an inner surface adapted to define at least a portion of a cooling gas compartment for receiving a cooling gas; and   at least one aperture formed between the inner surface and the outer surface, the at least one aperture comprising:
 a feed aperture operable to receive the cooling gas from the cooling gas compartment, and 
 a slot comprising a converging portion and a diverging portion, wherein the converging portion receives the cooling gas from the feed aperture and provides at least a portion of the cooling gas to the diverging portion, and wherein the diverging portion receives the portion of cooling gas from the converging portion and provides the portion of cooling gas to the outer surface. 
   
   
   
       10 . The cooled turbine component of  claim 9 , wherein an angle formed between the feed aperture and the slot is approximately 30 degrees to approximately 180 degrees. 
   
   
       11 . The cooled turbine component of  claim 9 , wherein the converging portion facilitates normalizing a flow associated with the cooling gas received from the feed aperture. 
   
   
       12 . The cooled turbine component of  claim 9 , wherein the diverging portion facilitates decreasing the velocity of the portion of cooling gas provided to the outer surface. 
   
   
       13 . The cooled turbine component of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 an expansion cavity between the feed aperture and the converging portion.   
   
   
       14 . The cooled turbine component of  claim 13 , wherein a diameter associated with the expansion cavity is approximately two to approximately six times greater than a diameter associated with the feed aperture. 
   
   
       15 . The cooled turbine component of  claim 9 , wherein a length of the slot is between approximately seven times to approximately ten times a length of the feed aperture. 
   
   
       16 . The cooled turbine component of  claim 9 , wherein a length of the converging portion is approximately equal to a length of the diverging portion. 
   
   
       17 . A method for providing cooling gas to a turbine component exposed to a hot gas flow, the method comprising:
 forming a feed aperture operable to receive cooling gas from a cooling gas compartment associated with the turbine component; and   forming a slot comprising a converging portion with a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening receives the cooling gas from the feed aperture, and wherein the second opening provides at least a portion of the cooling gas to an outer surface of the turbine component.   
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein forming a slot comprises forming a slot at an angle with respect to the feed aperture, wherein the angle is between approximately 30 degrees and approximately 180 degrees. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein forming a slot further comprises forming a slot comprising a diverging portion between the converging portion and the outer surface of the turbine component,
 wherein the diverging portion facilitates decreasing the velocity of the portion of cooling gas provided to the outer surface of the turbine component.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 forming an expansion cavity between the feed aperture and the converging portion.