Propeller shaft bearing arrangement

A propeller shaft bearing arrangement, which arrangement includes a plain bearing, which is lubricated with oil or water and which supports the propeller shaft extending through an opening in the body of a hull, and packing members for keeping the lubricant in the lubrication space and for preventing water from entering the bearing arrangement, which arrangement further comprise, in order to equalize pressure vibrations occurring in the lubricant, one or several pressure equalizers attached to walls of the lubrication space, which equalizers comprise a medium possessing high compressibility arranged within a closed space, for example in a tube or a flexible sac.

A method of preventing leaks in a bearing arrangement for a propeller shaft which extends through an elongate passage in the body of a ship's hull, which bearing arrangement includes a plain bearing which supports the propeller shaft and is lubricated with liquid lubricant contained in the passage, and packing members at opposite respective ends of the passage for preventing liquid from entering or leaving the passage by way of the ends thereof, said method comprising providing a highly compressible material in the passage at a location between the packing members for receiving and equalizing pressure fluctuations which occur in the liquid lubricant.

A propeller shaft bearing arrangement comprising a body member formed with a passage, a propeller shaft which extends through the elongate passage, a plain bearing which supports the propeller shaft in the passage, packing members at opposite respective ends of the passage for preventing liquid from entering or leaving the passage by way of the ends thereof, and at least one highly compressible pressure equalizer disposed in the passage.