General Electric Company
Adaptively opening backup cooling pathway

Abstract:

A hot gas path (HGP) component of an industrial machine includes primary and secondary cooling pathways. A body includes an internal cooling circuit carrying a cooling medium. A primary cooling pathway is spaced internally in the body and carries a primary flow of a cooling medium from an internal cooling circuit. A secondary cooling pathway is in the body and in fluid communication with an internal cooling circuit. The secondary cooling pathway is fluidly incommunicative and spaced internally from the primary cooling pathway. In response to an overheating event occurring, the secondary cooling pathway opens to allow a secondary flow of cooling medium through to the outer surface of the body and/or the primary cooling pathway. The primary flow flows in the primary cooling pathway prior to the overheating event, and the secondary flow of cooling medium does not flow until after an opening of the secondary cooling pathway.