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US 5,743,654 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 that includes a shaft and a supply of liquid, a fluid film bearing for pressurizing the liquid so as to support the shaft for rotation on a pressurized liquid film, the bearing comprising:
A journal bearing for supporting a rotating shaft, the bearing comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced bearing pads supported in a housing, each of the pads having a circumferentially curved shaft support surface, and further comprising a plurality of support posts, each of the support posts having one end secured in the housing and another end supporting a bearing pad, the support post being substantially radially inextensible, but circumferentially flexible, whereby each of the pads is supported for pivoting movement under load but anchored to the housing by the radially inextensible support post.
A 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 support member is provided on the support surface of the bearing pad at a location spaced from all edges of the bearing pad, the support member extending radially outward from the support surface to the support structure so as to provide the only support for the bearing pad on the support structure such that under load the pads move;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.