Patent ID: 8549865

Claim:
A gas turbine system comprising: a compressor section for compressing gas, the compressor section including a compressor discharge plenum at least partially defined by a compressor discharge case; a combustor section configured to accept compressed gas from the compressor and combust the compressed gas, generating a hot gas; a turbine section configured to accept the hot gas, the turbine section including a plurality of rotor wheels and a forward wheel space, the forward wheel space at least partially defined by the compressor discharge case; and at least one plug disposed in the compressor discharge case, the at least one plug comprising a housing and at least one pressure-actuated valve, the housing defining a passage extending through the compressor discharge case for flowing a portion of the compressed gas from the compressor discharge plenum to the forward wheel space, the at least one pressure-actuated valve disposed in the passage and movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the at least one pressure-actuated valve moves from the open position to the closed position as the pressure of the portion of the compressed gas increases and moves from the closed position to the open position as the pressure of the portion of the compressed gas decreases, wherein the at least one pressure-actuated valve in the closed position prevents the portion of the compressed gas from flowing through the passage, and wherein the at least one pressure-actuated valve in the open position allows the portion of the compressed gas to flow from the compressor discharge plenum through the passage and into the forward wheel space, cooling the forward wheel space.