Compliant gas thrust bearing with profiled and apertured thrust runner
AssigneeMechanical Technology Incorporated
InventorDonald F. Wilcock
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A compliant gas thrust bearing has a thrust plate on which is mounted an annular, flexible bearing sheet supported by a resilient support member which enables the bearing sheet to deflect under hydrodynamic loads and thermal and misalignment loads. The bearing surface of the thrust runner has formed therein a series of hydrodynamic profiles which facilitate the generation of hydrodynamic supporting gas films during rotation of the thrust runner. A restricted gas inlet port in the thrust runner admits externally pressurized lubricating gas to separate the bearing surfaces of the thrust runner and the bearing sheet during startup and stopping phases of operation and also to enhance the hydrodynamic effect of the thrust runner/compliant bearing surface combination.
Claims24
A compliant fluid thrust bearing, comprising:
- a thrust plate and a relatively movable thrust runner, defining therebetween a gap for receiving a compliant bearing assembly;
- a compliant bearing assembly disposed within said gap and including a flexible bearing sheet facing said thrust runner, and a resilient supporting element operatively engaged with said thrust plate for resiliently supporting said bearng sheet;
- said thrust runner having an axially facing bearing surface facing said bearing assembly, and said bearing sheet having an axially facing bearing surface facing the bearing surface at said thrust runner;
- said thrust runner having formed on said bearing surface thereof a profile which induces hydrodynamic supporting fluid pressure areas to support said thrust runner upon movement thereof relative to said sheet;
- and
- means in said thrust runner defining openings in the bearing surface thereof for admitting externally pressurized fluid for cooling and hydrostatic purposes.
A compliant gas thrust bearing for a rotating rotor comprising:
- a thrust plate, and a relatively movable thrust runner on the rotor, defining a gap between the plate and the runner;
- a bearing assembly disposed in said gap and including a flexible bearing sheet and a unitary resilient supporting element;
- said bearing sheet having a bearing surface and a backside on the side opposite said bearing surface;
- said unitary supporting element lying between said bearing sheet and said thrust plate, and having spaced, independently operating raised resilient elevations distributed in a matrix having a plurality of elevations in orthogonal directions across the surface of said unitary supporting element and deflecting independently of the deflection of adjacent elevations in both orthogonal directions, said elevations resiliently supporting said bearing sheet on the backside thereof by engaging spaced portions at said backside, while permitting local deflections of said sheet to accommodate thermal and centrifugal deformation and transient excursions of said thrust runner under the influence of vibration, rotor orbiting, and loading fluctuations;
- said thrust runner being mounted for rotation relative to said bearing sheet and having a bearing surface facing said bearing surface on said bearing sheet, said bearing surfaces of said sheet and said thrust runner defining the two boundaries of the bearing interface;
- said bearing surface of said thrust runner having formed therein a hydrodynamic profile which, upon relative movement of said bearing surfaces, induces the formation of a hydrodynamic supporting gas film to separate and support said thrust runner on said bearing sheet.
A compliant fluid bearing, comprising:
- two relatively movable members defining therebetween a gap;
- a bearing assembly disposed in said gap and including a flexible bearing sheet and a resilient supporting element;
- said supporting element lying between said bearing sheet and one of said members, operatively supported by said one member, and resiliently supporting said bearing sheet while permitting local deflections thereof to accommodate thermal and centrifugal deformation of said members and transient excursions thereof under the influences of vibration, rotor orbiting, and loading fluctuations;
- said bearing sheet having a bearing surface facing a relatively moving bearing face on the other of said members, and a backside on the side opposite said bearing surface, said face and said surface defining the two boundaries of a bearing interface, said bearing sheet being supported on said backside by said supporting element;
- said bearing face having formed therethrough a plurality of openings for fluid communication between said bearing interface and a source of externally pressurized lubricating fluid.
A method of supporting a rotating rotor, comprising the steps of:
- pumping lubricating fluid under pressure into a manifold in the rotating rotor;
- conveying said fluid through radial distribution conduits in said rotor to restrictions in said conduits;
- feeding fluid through said resrictions to a plurality of hydrodynamic shaped recesses in a bearing surface on said rotor to provide a supporting cushion of hydrostatic pressurized fluid adjacent each of said recesses;
- supporting a thin, flexible, stationary bearing sheet, in opposed bearing relationship to said rotor bearing surface, on a resilient, compliant support element;
- supporting said support element on a stationary support member;
- rotating said rotor relative to said sheet to generate supporting hydrodynamic pressurized fluid films to enhance the hydrostatic fluid cushions;
- deflecting said bearing sheet in the presence of misalignment loads and thermal distortion to maintain the correct spacing between said rotor bearing surface and said bearing sheet;
- and
- deflecting said bearing sheet in the vicinity of said films and cushions of pressurized fluid to optimize the load supporting capability of said bearing.
In a compliant hydrodynamic bearing having a flexible, smooth bearing sheet presenting a bearing surface to an opposed bearing surface of a rigid rotating member, and a resilient, compliant supporting element for supporting said bearing sheet from the side opposite the bearing surface thereof, the improvement comprising:
- said supporting element being in the form of a thin metal plate having a series of resilient, compliant projections extending out of the plane of said plate, said projections including leaves bent out of the plane of said plate, said leaves being defined on the three sides thereof by a slit in said plate;
- whereby said leaves can deflect individually and independently of the other portions of said plate so that deflection of one of said leaves will not disturb the support offered by the other of said leaves.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.