Importance

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Abstract

A cooled rotor aerofoil blade having a closed cycle cooling system containing sodium comprises an aerofoil cross-section portion and a root portion which are interconnected by a shank portion. The shank portion encloses two pairs of chambers one chamber of each pair being interconnected with the other chamber by a heat exchanger provided on the upstream face of the shank portion. The aerofoil cross-section portion encloses a plurality of length-wise extending passages which interconnect the two pairs of chambers within the shank portion with a further chamber provided within the tip of the aerofoil cross-section portion. A closed cycle cooling system is thus defined which contains sodium as the cooling medium. In operation, sodium contained within the passages of the aerofoil portion is vaporized, passes down the passage into the chambers and thence into the heat exchanger where it condenses. The condensed sodium is then centrifugally pumped into the shank chambers and back into the passages of the aerofoil portion. Thus the aerofoil portion is cooled, the waste heat being disposed of by way of the heat exchanger.

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First Claim