Patent ID: 7806659

Claim:
A first stage turbine blade for use in an industrial gas turbine engine, the blade comprising: a leading edge cooling supply channel; a leading edge impingement cavity connected to the leading edge supply channel through at least one metering hole; a showerhead arrangement of film cooling holes connected to the leading edge impingement cavity; a first forward flowing triple-pass serpentine flow cooling circuit located adjacent to the leading edge cooling supply channel; a second forward flowing triple-pass serpentine flow cooling circuit located adjacent to the trailing edge region of the blade; a first row of impingement cooling holes connected to the first leg of the second forward flowing triple-pass serpentine flow cooling circuit; a second row of impingement cooling holes located downstream from the first row of impingement cooling holes; a row of exit slots extending along the trailing edge of the blade, the exit slots having ribs forming a diffuser; and, the exit slots near the blade tip form a diffuser that progressively increases in the direction toward the blade tip.