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US 5,513,917 AGranted
Hydrostatic and active control movable pad bearing
AssigneeKMC, Inc.
InventorsRussell D. Ide, Fouad Y. Zeidan
Life of this patent
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AssigneeKMC, Inc.
InventorsRussell D. Ide, Fouad Y. Zeidan
Estimating the term…
A one piece hydrodynamic bearing which can include hydrostatic support features. The pads are supported on a single thin web for pivoting on a support structure which can include one or more beam-like members. The bearings may have hydrostatic and active control attributes and is very attractive in cryogenic applications where it is very difficult to prevent leakage in conventional hydrostatic tilt pad bearings. The hydrostatic feed through the post eliminates this problem completely and prevents the fretting at the pivots common with conventional tilt pad bearings. A cavity provided under a pad support membrane can be used as an active control device. The pressure can cause the bearing set or assembly clearance to be reduced thus providing better damping and centering capability. The preload in the pad can be actively controlled in this manner. The pad has a limiting device to prevent a negative pre-load condition from occurring. This active control of bearing clearance can allow bearings to operate at large spreads in temperatures.
In an assembly which includes a shaft and a supply of liquid, a hydrodynamic fluid film bearing for pressurizing the liquid so as to support the shaft for rotation on a pressurized liquid film, the bearing comprising:
In an assembly which includes a shaft and a supply of liquid, a one piece hydrodynamic fluid film bearing for supporting a shaft for rotation, the bearing comprising:
A hydrodynamic bearing supporting a rotating shaft, the bearing comprising a plurality of spaced bearing pads and a support structure for supporting the bearing pads, each of the bearing pads having a pad surface facing the rotating shaft, a support surface facing the support structure, a leading edge, a trailing edge and two side edges, wherein a single thin web is provided on the support surface of the bearing pad extending radially outward from the support surface to a support structure so as to support the bearing pad on the support structure such that under load the pads pivot, and further comprising nozzle means provided adjacent the leading edge of a bearing pad for directing lubricant to the leading edge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.