Bearing assemblies, apparatuses, devices, systems, and methods including bearings
AssigneeChampionX LLC
InventorsBrett Champlin, Joey Witt, Brian Hicks, Alex Hageman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Bearing assemblies, apparatuses, systems, and methods include bearing assemblies having one or more bearing element in a bearing housing for supporting a shaft extending through at least a portion of the bearing housing. The bearing assembly including a recirculation line for delivering fluid into the bearing housing at a location separate from a fluid inlet of the bearing housing to at least partially thermally regulate, lubricate, and/or flush the one or more bearing elements during operation of the shaft.
Claims20
A bearing apparatus, comprising:
- a bearing housing comprising:
- a fluid inlet for receiving a fluid from an upstream fluid source;
- and
- a fluid outlet for exiting the fluid to a downstream component coupled to the bearing housing, the bearing housing defining a fluid pathway between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet;
- a shaft extending through at least a portion of the bearing housing, the shaft configured to be driven by a motor;
- one or more bearing element comprising a superhard material, the one or more bearing element configured to support the shaft in an axial and radial direction when the shaft is being operated by the motor;
- and
- a recirculation line extending into the bearing housing, the recirculation line for delivering another fluid into the bearing housing at a location separate from the fluid inlet, the recirculation line positioned to pass the fluid through the one or more bearing element.
A fluid-handling system, comprising:
- a downstream component;
- and
- a bearing assembly coupled to the downstream component, the bearing assembly comprising:
- a bearing housing comprising:
- a fluid inlet for receiving a fluid from an upstream fluid source;
- and
- a fluid outlet for exiting the fluid to the downstream component coupled to the bearing housing, the bearing housing defining a fluid pathway between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet;
- a shaft extending through at least a portion of the bearing housing;
- one or more bearing element comprising a superhard material, the one or more bearing element configured to support the shaft in one or more of an axial direction or a radial direction when the shaft is being operated;
- and
- a recirculation line extending from the downstream component into the bearing housing, the recirculation line for delivering another fluid into the bearing housing along a secondary fluid pathway that is separate from the fluid pathway of the bearing housing, the recirculation line positioned to pass the fluid through the one or more bearing element.
A method of using a bearing assembly, the method comprising:
- rotating a shaft extending through a bearing housing;
- supporting the shaft with bearing elements comprising a superhard material;
- passing source fluid through the bearing housing along a first fluid pathway extending between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;
- supplying a bearing fluid along a second fluid pathway in fluid communication with the bearing elements;
- wherein the first fluid pathway exits the bearing housing without encountering the bearing elements;
- and
- combining the bearing fluid and the source fluid after the supplying the bearing fluid along the second fluid pathway in fluid communication with the bearing elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.