Patent ID: 8807927

Claim:
A flow control assembly, comprising: a member having a surface, the member comprising a turbine blade; a flow diverting member and a rail member, the rail member situated upstream of the flow diverting member, the flow diverting member and the rail member each projecting from the surface of the member, the flow diverting member having a distal end, wherein the rail member includes a rail member radial length that is from half of a flow diverting member length to a full flow diverting member length; a wall disposed in relation to the member to create a clearance gap between the distal end of the flow diverting member and the wall, a fluid path created between the member and the wall and flowing from an upstream section and through the clearance gap, the wall comprising a turbine casing perimetrically surrounding the member; a first chamber and a second chamber defined by the wall and located upstream of the clearance gap, the rail member diverting the fluid path in the first chamber into a generally curved configuration and the second chamber directing the fluid path into a vortex configuration wherein the first chamber is disposed upstream of the second chamber; and a single protrusion tooth extending radially from the wall and axially located upstream of the rail member.