Patent ID: 7481622

Claim:
A turbine airfoil having a pressure side wall and a suction side wall, the turbine airfoil comprising: a leading edge cooling circuit to supply film cooling to a leading edge of the airfoil; a serpentine circuit separate from the leading edge cooling circuit, the serpentine circuit including a first leg located near a trailing edge of the airfoil, a second leg downstream from the first leg, and a third leg located adjacent to and partially bounded by the pressure side wall of the airfoil such that near-wall cooling of the pressure side wall is performed; a plurality of pressure side wall film cooling holes opening onto the pressure side wall of the airfoil and communicating with the third leg of the serpentine circuit; a suction side wall compartment located adjacent to the suction side wall of the airfoil such that near-wall cooling of the suction side wall is performed and opposed to the third leg of the serpentine circuit; a plurality of suction side wall film cooling holes opening onto the suction side wall of the airfoil and communicating with the suction side wall compartment; and, a plurality of metering holes connecting the third leg of the serpentine circuit to the suction side wall compartment.