Alliedsignal Inc.

The Garrett Corporation

Alston L Gu

Marshall Patton Saville

Terence P Emerson

Richard L Fischer

Joseph Denk

Alexander Silver

Robert H Nadjafi

A turbopump which operates at cryogenic temperatures to pump cryogenic liquid fuels to high pressure which includes a rotating group including a shaft mounted turbine to directly drive a multistage pump with the rotating group being supported on process fluid foil journal bearings and a hydrostatic and hydrodynamic hybrid thrust bearing.

Cryogenic turbopump

An electrical machine (22) incorporates foil bearings (24) which are radially interposed between the stator assembly (26) and the permanent magnet of a rotor shaft (12), thus reducing the required axial length of the shaft and increasing the rotational speed at which the shaft bends incident to resonance.

Electrical machines and components thereof incorporating foil journal

A spring cluster disc (14) for a foil thrust bearing (10) is provided with a plurality of sets (52) of springs (62,64,66). The springs are configured to provide varying spring force and thus varying stiffness in radial and circumferential directions.

Foil thrust bearing with varying radial and circumferential stiffness

A journal bearing including a plurality of individual foils mounted to one of a pair of relatively rotatable members, and a plurality of undersprings which provide resilient support for the foils. The foils include a transition area defined for example by a step, adjacent the trailing edge of the preceding foil. The use of the stepped foil optimizes the geometry of the air gap profile, and thereby increases the load capacity of the journal foil bearing.

Stepped foil journal foil bearing

A turbopump which operates at cryogenic temperatures to pump cryogenic liquid fuels to high pressure, and which includes a rotating group supported on process fluid foil journal bearings and a hydrostatic and hydrodynamic foil thrust bearing. A back-face surface of a pump rotor reacts thrust forces to the foil thrust bearing and receives counter acting hydrostatic fluid forces dynamically moderated to achieve an equilibrium axial position and force balance.

Compact cryogenic turbopump

A high load capacity journal foil bearing and more particularly undersprings therefor. The journal foil bearing preferably includes a number of individual pads or foils which are conventionally mounted to a journal and have a pad face proximate a rotating shaft. The undersprings each include a number of curvilinear support beams or corrugations which are varied in width and pitch to optimize the spring force supporting the overlying foil. The underspring is configured to have wider beams at their leading edge and progressively narrower beams for approximately the first one half of the circumferential length.

High load capacity journal foil bearing

A foil thrust bearing including a thrust bearing underspring disk having a radially increasing spring force or load capacity. A plurality of spring sections formed in the underspring disk provided improved load capacity and pressure force distribution.

Thrust bearing underspring

A hydrodynamic process or gas bearing is disclosed which includes an integral thrust disk defining a plurality of foil elements, the radially outer edge of the disk being displaced from the major bearing surface to form a circumferential step having a varying height profile. The integral thrust disk may in the alternative or in addition, include a plurality of radially outwardly extending tabs to locally increase the flexural rigidity of the disk.

Foil thrust bearing

Cooling is provided for a foil journal bearing by means of flow openings in the individual overlapping foils and/or axially extending slots formed in the high lubricity coating on the surface of the foils.

Foil journal bearing cooling

A fluid film foil bearing having a resilient trailing edge support.

Foil bearing

A method of forming an underspring for a foil thrust bearing from a uniform thickness sheet. The underspring is formed by chemically etching a plurality of slots in the disk and then stamping the tabs formed by the slots.

Method of making a thrust bearing underspring

Cooling is provided for a foil journal bearing by means of flow openings in the individual overlapping foils without adversely affecting the compliance of the foils.

A foil thrust bearing having an underspring formed from a uniform thickness sheet wherein the underspring includes a plurality of arcuate tabs extending toward the thrust disk in the direction of rotation of the thrust runner.

A foil thrust bearing having an underspring with alternating upper ridges and lower ridges.

A foil thrust bearing having a thrust disk with integral compliant bearing pads or foils. A number of alternative thrust bearing disks are disclosed, each of which provides a plurality of integral, converging, bearing pads or foils having diverging ramps and/or openings therebetween.

Growing community of inventors

Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, United States of America

Alston L Gu