Patent ID: 7841828

Claim:
A turbine airfoil, comprising: a generally elongated hollow airfoil formed from an outer wall, and having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, a suction side, a first endwall at a first end, a second endwall at a second end opposite the first end; at least one submerged endwall cooling channel positioned in the first endwall proximate to an intersection between the generally elongated airfoil and the first endwall such that the at least one submerged endwall cooling channel extends around the leading edge, along the pressure side, around the trailing edge, and along the suction side of the generally elongated hollow airfoil; wherein the at least one submerged endwall cooling channel has an outer surface positioned inward of an outer surface of the first endwall; wherein the outer surface of the first endwall defines a portion of the at least one submerged endwall; and a plurality of film cooling orifices in the outer wall extending from an internal cooling system to the outer surface of the at least one submerged endwall cooling channel; wherein at least one of the film cooling orifices is positioned at a bottommost portion of the at least one submerged endwall cooling channel.