Liquid-cooled turbine rotor

Claim 2

In a gas turbine including a casing, a shaft rotatably supported in said casing, a turbine disc mounted on said shaft and turbine buckets mounted on the outer rim of said disc and extending radially outwardly therefrom, said buckets having internal coolant passages and said disc having coolant channels through the outer rim which communicate liquid coolant to said buckets, an arrangement for supplying liquid coolant to said buckets comprising: (a) a flange on said shaft extending radially outwardly from said shaft and adjacent to said disc; (b) said shaft including an axially extending passage for liquid coolant and including openings adjacent said flange for discharging coolant from said axially extending passage onto said flange; (c) said flange directing the coolant, under influence of centrifugal force, radially outwardly toward said disc; (i) said flange having a plurality of circumferentially disposed apertures; (ii) said disc having a plurality of apertures aligned with said apertures in said flange; (d) said disc including means for passage of coolant from said flange to said outer rim channels; and (e) a plurality of bolts extending longitudinally through said apertures for securing said disc to said flange in abutting contact, said bolts being fluted to provide a plurality of axial passages forming a portion of said means for passage of coolant.

Claim 3

The arrangement as recited in claim 1, (a) wherein said means for passage of coolant comprises: (i) radially inwardly disposed passages in said disc, said passages intersecting said apertures on the side of said disc adjacent said flange and communicating coolant from said flange to said axial passages in said bolts; and (ii) radially outwardly disposed passages in said disc, said passages intersecting the apertures on the opposite side of said disc and communicating coolant from said axial passages in said bolts to said outer rim channels.

Claim 4

In a gas turbine including a casing, a shaft rotatably supported in said casing, a plurality of turbine discs in said casing including a forward disc, an aft disc and an intermediate disc mounted on said shaft, turbine buckets mounted on each said disc and extending radially outwardly therefrom, said buckets having internal coolant passages and each said disc having coolant channels through the outer rim which communicate liquid coolant to said buckets, an arrangement for supplying liquid coolant to said buckets comprising: (a) a forward flange, an aft flange and an intermediate flange extending radially outwardly from said shaft, each said flange being adjacent to a corresponding one of said discs; (b) sealing spacers interposed between said discs and mounted for rotation therewith; (c) said forward flange, said aft flange, said discs and said spacers having axially aligned apertures circumferentially disposed about said shaft; (d) a plurality of bolts, said bolts extending through said apertures and securing said flanges, discs and spacers in abutting contact, said bolts having flutes therein to provide a plurality of axial passages along said apertures; (e) said shaft including an axially extending passage for liquid coolant and including openings adjacent said flanges for discharging coolant onto said flanges; (f) each of said flanges directing the coolant, under influence of centrifugal force, radially outwardly toward a corresponding one of said discs; (g) each of said spacers forming with a corresponding one of said discs a circumferentially disposed chamber, each of said chambers directing coolant to said outer rim channels in a corresponding one of said discs; (h) means including said axial passages for communicating coolant from said forward flange to said forward chamber and from said aft flange to said aft chamber; and (i) said chambers directing liquid coolant, under influence of centrifugal force, directly into corresponding outer rim channels.

Claim 5

In a gas turbine including a casing, a shaft rotatably supported in said casing, a plurality of turbine discs in said casing including a forward disc, an aft disc and an intermediate disc mounted on said shaft, turbine buckets mounted on each said disc and extending radially outwardly therefrom, said buckets having internal coolant passages and each said disc having coolant channels through the outer rim which communicate liquid coolant to said buckets, an arrangement for supplying liquid coolant to said buckets comprising: (a) a forward flange, an aft flange and an intermediate flange extending radially outwardly from said shaft, each said flange being adjacent to a corresponding one of said discs; (b) sealing spacers interposed between said discs and mounted for rotation therewith; (c) said forward flange, said aft flange, said discs and said spacers having axially aligned apertures circumferentially disposed about said shaft; (d) a plurality of bolts, said bolts extending through said apertures and securing said flanges, discs and spacers in abutting contact, said bolts having flutes therein to provide a plurality of axial passages along said apertures; (e) said shaft including an axially extending passage for liquid coolant and including openings adjacent said flanges for discharging coolant onto said flanges; (f) each of said flanges directing the coolant, under influence of centrifugal force, radially outwardly toward a corresponding one of said discs; (g) each of said spacers forming with a corresponding one of said discs a circumferentially disposed chamber, each of said chambers directing coolant to said outer rim channels in a corresponding one of said discs; (h) means including said axial passages for communicating coolant from said forward flange to said forward chamber and from said aft flange to said aft chamber; and (i) said chambers directing liquid coolant, under influence of centrifugal force, directly into corresponding outer rim channels.

Claim 6

The arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said means for communicating coolant from said forward flange to said forward chamber comprises: (a) said forward disc having radially inwardly disposed passages intersecting said apertures on the side of said forward disc adjacent said forward flange and having radially outwardly disposed passages intersecting said apertures on the opposite side of said forward disc.

Claim 7

The arrangement as recited in claim 3 further comprising: a plurality of slots forming radially extending passages, circumferentially disposed on the side of said intermediate disc adjacent said intermediate flange for communicating coolant from said intermediate flange to said intermediate chamber.

Claim 8

The arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said means for communicating coolant from said aft flange to said aft chamber comprises: (a) said aft disc having radially inwardly disposed passages intersecting the apertures on the side of said aft disc adjacent said aft flange and having radially outwardly disposed passages intersecting the apertures on the opposite side of said aft disc.

Claim 9

The arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein: (a) said openings in said shaft adjacent said forward flange are of a number and size which meter a predetermined quantity of coolant onto said forward flange; and (b) wherein, said openings in said shaft adjacent said intermediate flange are of a number and size which meter a quantity of coolant lesser than said quantity of coolant metered onto said forward flange; and (c) wherein said openings in said shaft adjacent said aft flange are of a number and size which meter a quantity of coolant lesser than said quantity of coolant metered onto said intermediate flange.

Claim 10

The arrangement as recited in claim 7, wherein: (a) said openings in said shaft adjacent said intermediate flange have a smaller size than said openings adjacent said forward flange; and (b) said openings in said shaft adjacent said aft flange have a smaller size than said openings adjacent said intermediate flange.