Patent ID: 7648333

Claim:
A cooling arrangement between adjacent shrouded blades of a gas turbine engine, the arrangement comprising: a first blade shroud having a pressure surface edge and a portion of the shroud incorporating a plurality of passages for transporting coolant bled from a compressor stage to passage ends disposed at the pressure surface edge; and a second blade shroud having a suction surface and a suction surface edge, the pressure surface edge and the suction surface edge being spaced apart, the suction surface inclines towards a bottom edge of the passage ends so that the bottom edge of the passage ends being substantially in line with the suction surface edge to limit substantially perpendicular impingement upon the suction surface edge of coolant flowing from the passage ends during operation of the gas turbine and to provide a continuous flow of the coolant from the passage ends over the suction surface and provide a cooling film adjacent the suction surface, wherein a wall thickness of the first blade shroud at the pressure surface edge is greater than a wall thickness of the second blade shroud at the suction surface edge.