Patent ID: 7744347

Claim:
A turbine engine component comprising: an airfoil portion having a tip, a root portion, at least one central core element, a pressure side wall, and a suction side wall; said airfoil portion having an airfoil gauge external point; a first serpentine cooling passageway embedded within a first one of said pressure side wall and said suction side wall; a second serpentine cooling passageway embedded within a second one of said pressure side wall and said suction side wall; said at least one central core element communicating with a source of cooling fluid; said at least one central core element being located between an interior wall of said pressure side wall and an interior wall of said suction side wall; said first serpentine cooling passageway having an inlet leg with at least one inlet for receiving said cooling fluid from said at least one central core element and supplying said cooling fluid to said inlet leg; said inlet leg having a direction of flow solely towards said tip of the airfoil portion and each said inlet being oriented at an angle with respect to said direction of flow; said first serpentine cooling passageway further having an outlet leg and said outlet leg having at least one cooling film hole for allowing said cooling fluid to flow over a first external surface of said first one of said pressure side wall and said suction side wall, said at least one cooling film hole being located ahead of said airfoil gauge external point in a region extending from said leading edge to said airfoil gauge external point; and said airfoil portion having a leading edge and a cooling circuit in said leading edge and said leading edge cooling microcircuit being supplied with a flow of cooling fluid from a supply cavity different from said at least one central core element supplying said cooling fluid to said at least one inlet of said first serpentine cooling passageway and a core element supplying cooling fluid to said second serpentine cooling passageway.