Patent ID: 8186953

Claim:
An air cooled turbine rotor blade comprising: a spar that provides support for a shell in the rotor blade; the spar having a pressure side surface and a suction side surface; the spar having an internal cooling supply channel extending from an inlet end and ending near to a tip end of the spar; the spar forming a pressure side middle cooling passage and a suction side middle cooling passage both extending a length of the shell; a first row of pressure side cooling air supply holes is formed in the spar and connects the internal cooling supply channel to the pressure side middle passage; a second row of suction side cooling air supply holes is formed in the spar and connects the internal cooling supply channel to the suction side middle passage; the pressure side of the spar also forms an upper leading edge passage and a lower leading edge passage, and an upper trailing edge passage and a lower trailing edge passage; the suction side of the spar also forms an upper leading edge passage and a lower leading edge passage, and an upper trailing edge passage and a lower trailing edge passage; the spar and the shell both form a leading edge passage and a trailing edge passage; the upper and lower leading edge passages on the pressure side and the suction side of the spar all open into the leading edge passage; and, the upper and lower trailing edge passages on the pressure side and the suction side of the spar all open into the trailing edge passage.