Patent ID: 8266914

Claim:
A combustor for discharging a flow of combustion gases to a first stage of turbine vanes of a gas turbine engine, the turbine vanes having airfoils extending across a first stage turbine vane passage, the combustor comprising a combustor liner shell circumscribing a combustion chamber, said combustion chamber having an outlet end configured for mounting to an upstream side of the first stage of turbine vanes for directing a flow of combustion gases thereto, at least one circumferential array of heat shield panels mounted to an interior side of the combustor liner shell at said outlet end, the heat shield panels having an exterior side disposed in a spaced-apart facing relationship with the interior side of the combustor liner shell to define a gap therewith, cooling holes defined in said combustor liner shell for directing a coolant in said gap, and a circumferential sealing rail integral to the combustor liner shell and protruding inwardly from a trailing edge portion of the interior side of the combustor liner shell to a rail-less trailing edge area of the exterior surface of the heat shield panels to seal said gap at said outlet end of said annular combustion chamber, and wherein said circumferential sealing rail project inwardly to a location disposed substantially radially outside of the first stage turbine vane passage, the interior side of the heat shield panels being located radially inside the first stage turbine vane passage so as to define a step relative to the first stage turbine vane passage, the step corresponding generally to a distance between the exterior and the interior sides of the heat shield panels.