Cooled combustion turbine blade with retrofit blade seal

Claim 1

A cooled turbine blade assembly adapted for installation on a rotor disc (1) having axially extending serrated slots provided about the disc periphery to receive serrated blade root portions in mating engagement; and (2) having means for providing a flow of cooling air through a plenum chamber in each blade root slot between each blade root and the disc; said blade assembly comprising a blade having an airfoil portion and a root portion engageable with the disc in one of the slots and means for conducting cooling fluid from the plenum chamber beneath the root portion through the root portion and the airfoil portion and into an exhaust path to the motive axial fluid surrounding the airfoil portion; a separate sealing member having an upper portion thereof engaged against a side portion of said blade root portion to prevent sealing member axial movement and a lower portion thereof disposed in and contoured closely with the associated serrated disc slot to close off the plenum chamber on the blade downstream side; said upper portion being shaped to fit closely within a notched corner of a radially innermost serration of the blade root, so that the upper portion of said sealing member is generally continuous with the blade root; said lower portion being shaped in the radial plane to closely fit and fill the space between the walls of the plenum chamber and dimensioned in the axial plane to a thickness which is less than the radial dimension of the lower portion; and side plate means engaged against said blade and said sealing member to lock the same in place.