Internal bypass gas turbine engines with blade cooling

Claim 1

In a gas turbine engine having a compressor section, a combustion section, and a mixed-flow turbine, the improvement comprising: a turbine hub, means mounting said hub for rotation, a plurality of solid turbine blades extending generally radially from said hub and extending generally axially along said hub from a forward end of said hub toward a rearward end thereof, each of said turbine blades having an axially forwardly extending cold air inlet portion positioned closely adjacent said hub and further having a hot air inlet reaction portion positioned radially outwardly and axially rearwardly of said cold air inlet portion, said blades having outer edges which taper from a minimum diameter at said cold air inlet portion radially outwardly and axially rearwardly therefrom to a substantially maximum diameter at said hot gas inlet reaction portion, the volume defined by the spaces between adjacent said blades increasing along the axial length of said blades from a minimum at said cold air inlet portions to a substantially greater volume at said hot gas inlet reaction portions, said blades having common gas outlet portions at the trailing edges thereof, means for applying cold bypass air from said compressor section exclusively to said cold air inlet portions of said blades, and means for applying hot gases from said combustion section exclusively to said hot gas inlet reaction portions of said blades.