Patent ID: 7131818

Claim:
An airfoil comprising: an airfoil being curved with a pressure wall and a suction wall spaced from each other, said airfoil extending from a base to a tip; cooling channels formed between said suction and pressure walls and within said airfoil, said cooling channels including a serpentine channel, said serpentine channel having a first path extending from said base outwardly and through said airfoil towards said tip, a second path communicating with said first path and returning cooling fluid back toward said base, and a third path communicating with said second path and returning cooling fluid back outwardly away from said base, said first, second and third paths each having a generally trapezoidal shape in cross-section, with each of said trapezoidal shapes having a larger side and a smaller side, said larger sides of said first and third paths being positioned facing one of said pressure and suction walls and said smaller sides of said first and third paths being positioned facing the other of said pressure and suction walls, and said larger side of said second path being positioned facing said other of said pressure and suction walls, with said smaller side of said second path being positioned facing said one of said pressure and suction walls; a microcircuit cooling circuit embedded within said airfoil adjacent said smaller side of one of said first, second, and third paths and between said smaller side of said one of said first, second, and third paths and a facing one of said pressure and suction walls, said microcircuit cooling circuit receiving cooling fluid to provide additional cooling in an area between said smaller side of said one of said first, second, and third paths and said facing one of said pressure walls; and said microcircuit cooling circuit being smaller in cross-section than said first, second and third paths, and a plurality of pedestals extending across said microcircuit cooling circuit.