Patent ID: 7785070

Claim:
An airfoil for a turbine of a gas turbine engine comprising: an outer wall extending radially between opposing inner and outer ends of said airfoil, said outer wall comprising a pressure side and a suction side joined together at chordally spaced apart leading and trailing edges of said airfoil; a radially extending cooling cavity located between said inner and outer ends of said airfoil and between said pressure side and said suction side; at least one partition extending radially through said cooling cavity and extending from said pressure side to said suction side, said at least one partition defining at least one flow channel within said cooling cavity adjacent at least one of said leading edge and said trailing edge, said at least one flow channel defining a flow axis extending between said pressure side and said suction side from a fluid entrance to a fluid exit at an opposite end of said at least one flow channel; and a plurality of rib members extending transversely to said flow axis into said at least one flow channel, said rib members spaced from each other along said flow axis and extending alternately from opposing sides of said at least one flow channel to direct flow of cooling fluid in an undulating path alternately impinging on said opposing sides of said at least one flow channel, wherein said opposing sides comprise said pressure side and said suction side and said flow axis extends in said chordal direction, and wherein said rib members each include a distal end that substantially extends past said flow axis such that said cooling fluid cannot flow in a straight path through said at least one flow channel along said flow axis.