Patent 7712316 was granted and assigned to United Technologies on May, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A gas turbine engine includes turbine blades having film cooling holes at an outer face of an airfoil wherein the film cooling holes are designed to be better filled with air. In a disclosed embodiment, the film cooling holes include a meter section extending along a direction having a main component extending from a blade tip to a blade root. In addition, a diffused section communicates with the meter section at a face of the airfoil. The diffused section is spaced toward the blade tip from the meter section. In this manner, centrifugal force ensures the diffused section is also filled with air.