Hydrostatically supported tilting pad journal bearing improvements

A tilting pad journal bearing for supporting a rotatable shaft comprising, in combination:

• a plurality of bearing pad segments disposed in surrounding relation to the shaft, each of the bearing pad segments including opposed ends, an inner face, an outer face, a recess in the outer face, and a conduit to establish fluid communication between the inner face and the recess;
• a carrier ring for supporting the bearing pad journals;
• a pad cam for placement between adjacent pad segments, each pad cam having means thereon for mounting the pad cam to the carrier ring at a location between adjacent ends of the pad segments, the pad cam including a pair of inclined faces which are relatively convergent as the radial innermost periphery of the pad cam is approached;
• and
• a lubricant contained within the bearing from which is hydrodynamically generated a lubricant film when the shaft is rotating that is communicated via the conduit to and accumulated by the recess of each of the pad segments to provide a hydrostatic support upon which each pad segment may be pivotally supported, the inclined faces of each pad cam being in confronting relation to one of the opposed ends of each of the pad segments to define a clearance that allows each pad segment to pitch and rock about its center on the hydrostatic support as the shaft is rotating.