Rockwell International Corporation

The Boeing Company

Boeing North American, Inc.

Rotodynamics-Seal Research, Inc.

Joseph K Scharrer

Robert F Beatty

Robert F Sutton

Robert F Hecht

Ko-Wei Lang

Arpad Csomor

Nandor L Gaspar

An orifice compensated hydrostatic bearings wherein a roughened surface area retards the hydrostatic fluid flow exiting the hydrostatic bearing reducing the whirl frequency ratio while increasing the bearing stiffness and life.

Tire track roughened orifice compensated hydrostatic bearing

A foil bearing is used wherein the support for the foils are hydrostatically rather than mechanical spring supported. The bearing housing has a plurality of orifices for admitting hydrostatic fluid over the foils. The foils are then supported by the hydrostatic fluid. The hydrostatic foil bearing is stiffer, longer lasting, and easier to assemble than foil bearings with mechanical spring backings. Hydrostatically supported foil bearings also have variable spring rates depending on the pressure of the hydrostatic fluid, thus allowing the hydrostatic foil bearing to have adjustable capacity with speed. In addition the hydrostatic foil bearing damping between the rotor and housing is greater than foil bearings with mechanical spring backing.

Hydrostatically supported foil bearing

A foil bearing operable with a magnetic field providing for magnetic suspension of a shaft. In one embodiment, the bearing construction relies upon a plurality of magnetic field generating members arranged to provide a shaft forming space to envelopingly receive the shaft and effectively suspend same in a composite magnetic field. In one embodiment, each of the magnetic field generating member include coils which are energizable with an electric current. In another embodiment, the magnetic field generating members comprise permanent magnets which are used in combination to create the composite magnetic field. A foil is trained about each of the magnetic field generating elements and the foils on each of these elements effectively define the space or cavity which receives the shaft Thus, when the shaft is levitated in the space or cavity by the composite magnetic field, it can function as a rotor and can be caused to rotate through a force applied to the shaft or a housing which receives the shaft. If the magnetic fields should fail or weaken, the shaft is still supported by the foils in the same manner as with foil barings.

Magnetically active foil bearing

Adjustable gap hydrostatic bearings and adjustable gap seals wherein the adjustable gaps are useful to compensate for wear, thermal expansion, journal speed, and radial deflection of the journal. A housing 10 is adjacent to a journal 2. The housing contains an annular electrodeformable material 5 which will expand or contract radially with the application of voltage and thus adjust the gap between the liner material 3 and the journal.

Adjustable gap hydrostatic element

A bearing is mounted for rotation on a shaft, the bearing having a projected area in both the axial and radial directions. A fixed bearing support housing is mounted adjacent to and spaced from the bearing and forms an annular space for a fluid flow path extending both radially and axially around the bearing to provide a hydrostatic film barrier which centers the shaft during steady state operation. A plurality of reversing fluid jets in the bearing support housing communicate with such annular space. A pair of non-rotating split rings are located forward and aft of the bearing, the split rings each having a taper angle on its inner circumferential surface. A garter spring is mounted in a recess in the outer circumference of each ring and forces the outer edge of the tapered surface into contact with a hardened surface area on the shaft or on a sleeve mounted on the shaft, to support and center the shaft in the transient state and during start-up and shut-down operations. Annular passsages communicate with the annular space around the bearing and with the space formed by the taper angle of the split rings so that when high pressure fluid flows into contact with the taper angle on the split rings, the split rings are forced out of contact with the shaft and permit rotation thereof.

Hydrostatic bearing for axial/radial support

To decrease the wear between the journal 6, and the hydrostatic bearing 1, especially during start up and shut down of the turbomachine, a rub ring 5, is employed intermediate the journal and bearing. The rub ring will come into contact with the journal before the bearing and prevent contact with the bearing bore. The rub ring also serves to block the leakage of the fluid from the bearing. This interrupted flow causes an increase in the stiffness and damping coefficients of the hydrostatic bearing. The use of the rub ring increases the life of the bearing, improves the rotordynamic performance, reduces the leakage flow and improves the hydrodynamic performance of the hydrostatic bearing.

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Fair Oaks, CA, United States of America

Joseph K Scharrer