Patent ID: 8292581

Claim:
An air-cooled turbine blade having a convex suction side wall, a concave pressure side wall, a leading edge wall, a trailing edge wall, a root and a tip, the walls and the tip each including an inner surface that defines an interior with the root, the leading edge wall including a plurality of openings, and the trailing edge wall including a plurality of slots formed thereon, the turbine blade comprising: a suction side flow circuit formed within the blade interior and defined at least by the interior surface of the convex suction side wall, the suction side flow circuit comprising a forward flow circuit, an aft flow circuit, and a tip flow circuit, the forward flow circuit extending from the root to the tip and comprising, a serpentine passage, a first outlet, and a second outlet, the first outlet in communication with the aft flow circuit, and the second outlet in communication with the tip flow circuit, the aft flow circuit extending from the root in flow communication with the forward flow circuit and at least one of the trailing edge slots, and the tip flow circuit extending along the tip interior surface to at least one of the trailing edge slots and comprising a pin bank section, a first opening, and a second opening, the first opening in flow communication with the forward flow circuit outlet, and the second opening in flow communication with the suction side forward flow circuit; a pressure side flow circuit formed within the blade interior and defined at least by the interior surface of the concave pressure side wall; and a center flow circuit including a first section and a second section, the first section disposed between the suction side flow circuit and the pressure side flow circuit, and the second section in flow communication with the first section and the plurality of openings of the leading edge wall and defined at least partially by the interior surface of the leading edge wall.