Gear and bearing indents to induce fluid film
AssigneeHamilton Sundstrand Corporation
InventorsEdward W. Goy, Weishun William Ni
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel pump assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a shaft for transmitting motion, a gear connected to and coaxial with the shaft with the gear having a first wear surface, a first bearing coaxial with the shaft with the first bearing being configured to support the gear and having a second wear surface positioned to interact with the first wear surface, and a plurality of indents. The indents are distributed in the first wear surface or the second wear surface and at least two of the plurality of indents are partially aligned in a radial direction.
Claims17
A fuel pump assembly for a gas turbine engine, the fuel pump assembly comprising:
- a shaft for transmitting motion;
- a gear connected to and coaxial with the shaft, the gear having a first wear surface;
- a first bearing coaxial with the shaft, the first bearing being configured to support the gear, wherein the first bearing has a second wear surface positioned to interact with the first wear surface;
- and
- a plurality of indents, wherein each of the indents extends a respective depth into the first wear surface or the second wear surface, at least two of the plurality of indents are partially aligned in a radial direction, and a ratio of an absolute value of a surface area of one of the indents to an absolute value of the depth of the indent is between approximately 0.01 and 0.05.
An assembly comprising:
- a shaft for transmitting motion;
- a gear connected to and coaxial with the shaft, the gear having a first wear surface;
- a first bearing coaxial with the shaft, the first bearing being configured to support the gear, wherein the first bearing has a second wear surface that interacts with the first wear surface;
- and
- a plurality of indents, wherein a total surface area of all the indents occupies between 15 percent and 25 percent of a total surface area on the first wear surface or the second wear surface, and wherein each of the indents a respective depth into the first wear surface or the second wear surface and a ratio of an absolute value of a surface area of one of the indents to an absolute value of the depth of the indent is between approximately 0.01 and 0.05.
A method of operating a gear and bearing assembly, the method comprising:
- rotating a gear adjacent a bearing configured to support the gear, the gear having a first wear surface positioned to interact with a second wear surface of the bearing, wherein one of the first wear surface and the second wear surface includes a plurality of indents with at least two of the plurality of indents being partially aligned in a radial direction and wherein each of the indents extends a respective depth into one of the first wear surface and the second wear surface and a ratio of an absolute value of a surface area of one of the indents to an absolute value of the depth of the indent is between approximately 0.01 and 0.05;
- and
- generating a fluid film thickness with a fluid between the first wear surface and the second wear surface, wherein during said gear rotation the plurality of indents creates a separation force on the fluid to produce the fluid film thickness.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.