Patent ID: 7632062

Claim:
A rotor blade having an airfoil portion with airfoil exterior side walls, a tip edge and a tip arrangement, said rotor blade having an axis from said airfoil portion to said tip edge, said tip arrangement comprising an open ended gutter channel extending along said tip edge of said airfoil portion in order to inhibit leakage flow laterally across said gutter channel with respect to said axis, in use, said gutter channel being defined by winglets comprising passages, said winglets extending laterally, with respect to said axis, from said airfoil exterior side walls and having upstanding sections to define said gutter channel therebetween, said airfoil portion including a coolant air passage within said airfoil portion to supply coolant air to said winglet passages, said winglets having apertures to eject coolant air at the tips of said upstanding sections of said winglets to mingle with any leakage flow drawn across said gutter channel wherein said passages are configured to eject coolant air radially from said tip arrangement.