Turbine cooling for gas turbine engine

Claim 1

A gas turbine engine having: a compressor; a first stage rotor blade set having a cooling flowpath through the blades; a first stage rim structure supporting said first stage rotor blades; a first stage disk supporting said rim structure; a second stage stator vane set having cooling flowpaths through the vanes; a second stage interstage labyrinth seal sealing around said second stage stator vane set; a second stage rotor blade set; stator nozzles mounted in said stator adjacent to said first stage disk and angled to direct airflow passing therethrough in the direction of rotation of said disk; means for conveying cooling air from substantially a compressor outlet to said stator nozzles; said rim structure having cooling airflow openings therethrough from an upstream side to a downstream side of said disk; means for conveying airflow through said rotor from said stator nozzles to said cooling airflow openings in said rim structure; nozzles secured to said rotor, angled to direct flow therethrough opposite the direction of rotation of said rotor and located to discharge air into a plenum between seal sections of said second stage interstage labyrinth seal; and the cooling flowpath through said second stage vanes being in fluid communication with said seal plenum.