Dynamic tester for rotor seals and bearings

Abstract

A dynamic tester (10) for testing vibration damping seals and bearings is constructed having a hollow shaft (12) extending through the seal or bearing, with the shaft internally supported at each end by fluid bearings (19, 21) on hollow bosses (18, 20) connected to an interior of an enclosure (11) , with no rolling members connected to the shaft. A high pressure working fluid is forced through the hollow bosses (18, 20) to operate the bearings. Additionally, the shaft (12) is provided with a reaction turbine (32) that angularly vents a portion of the high pressure working fluid in order to rotate the shaft at high speed, up top 40,000 rpm. The seal or bearing (44) is mounted in a bushing (70), in turn supported by rods (80, 82, 86 of FIG. 3, or rods 72, 74 of FIG. 2) coupled by flex hinges (90, 90a of FIG. 3, 76, 76a of FIG. 2) to a shaking device (92 of FIG. 3, or 78 of FIG. 2) that vibrates the seal or bearing as the shaft is rotated. A plurality of proximity sensors (100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114) are mounted from outside the enclosure to sense shaft and seal bushing vibrations, and a plurality of pressure ports (120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134) are disposed in the enclosure to allow sensing of dynamic and static pressures of the testing apparatus.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.