Patent ID: 8281600

Claim:
A method for cooling a combustor assembly including a cooling passage defined between at least one sleeve and an outer surface of a combustion component, said method comprising: providing at least one thimble that includes an outer surface, a lip portion at least partially defined by the outer surface of the at least one thimble, and an inner surface that defines a first opening, a second opening downstream from the first opening, and a flow channel extending therebetween, wherein the flow channel is formed with a converging portion and a recovery portion downstream from the converging portion, a diameter of the converging portion that decreases from the first opening to the recovery portion, a diameter of the recovery portion is substantially constant therethrough; inserting the at least one thimble into at least one inlet defined in the at least one sleeve such that the lip portion engages the outer surface of the at least one sleeve, wherein the flow channel is coupled in flow communication with the cooling passage, and such that cooling air discharged from the flow channel facilitates impingement cooling of the combustion component.