A journal foil bearing comprising a retaining member having an inner surface which defines a shaft opening within which a rotatable shaft is receivable for rotation; and a foil assembly affixed to and lining the inner surface and comprising a plurality of foil sub-assemblies each subtending a circumferential segment, of the inner surface. Each of the foil sub-assemblies may comprise an under foil sandwiched between a spring foil disposed radially outwardly of the under foil, and a top foil dispo...

A hydrodynamic fluid film bearing for supporting a rotation shaft of a turbo or rotary apparatus includes a sleeve having a circular inner opening for receiving a rotation shaft therein, at least one metallic foil member of arc shape having one end fixed to the inner surface of the sleeve and arranged along the inner opening of the sleeve, and at least one elastic member disposed at the sleeve between the sleeve and the foil member. A bearing housing for receiving a bearing of a rotary apparatus...

A hydrodynamic bearing set, for use with a thrust disk disposed between planar surfaces of a housing, includes first and second topfoils disposed adjacent first and second thrust disk axial bearing surfaces and removably secured to the housing. An underspring is secured between each planar housing surface and the corresponding topfoil. Dual-leaf spring pairs attached to at least one topfoil periphery function to urge the topfoils away from the thrust disk axial bearing surfaces by applying a for...

In a foil bearing (1), a foil assembly (4) disposed between a stationary mount member (3) and a journal (2) of a rotating member comprises: a top foil (5) having one end secured to an upper portion of the stationary mount member and extending circumferentially to surround a substantially entire outer circumferential surface of the journal; and a plurality of spring foils (6) arranged in an annular gap between the top foil and the stationary mount member, wherein each of the spring foils consists...

A high load capacity hydrodynamic journal foil bearing system is disclosed, which comprises a top foil and a plurality of undersprings. Preload forces are transferred from the undersprings to internal circumferential compressive forces within a top foil, resulting in low preload forces against the shaft, allowing the shaft to expand at high speeds without increasing the preload forces or overloading the fluid film. One underspring may have a different spring rate than another underspring. The to...

The disclosed invention relates to a foil type fluid bearing including a foil assembly. The foil assembly supports a journal within a stationary retaining member and includes a top foil that is disposed on the inside in the radial direction, three mid foil layers that are disposed outside the top foil, and corrugated bump foils disposed outside the mid foil layers. When the journal is radially displaced, a large frictional damping force is generated between the three mid foil layers, thereby enh...

A compliant support for an axial thrust air bearing between a shaft and a housing with an annular thrust runner extending radially from the shaft having a runner bearing surface. The housing has a housing bearing surface and an air inlet in communication with a source of pressurized air. An annular foil support sleeve is disposed on the housing bearing surface, having an air foil surface with an array of foils. The foils serve to conduct air from the air inlet forming a pressurized air curtain b...

A compliant foil fluid thrust bearing has a single sided or two sided thrust disk rotor, an integrally formed compliant foil member, and an underspring member. The non-rotating but compliant foils are located adjacent to the thrust face or faces or the rotatable disk and are formed as arcuate segments on washer-shaped disk members. The underspring member consists of three washer-shaped disk elements that together provide variable spring stiffness in both the circumferential and radial directions...

A gas dynamic foil bearing comprises a plate (13) attached to a base (10), support members (14) fixed on the plate (13) at predetermined intervals, elastic foils (15) fixed to the support members (14) at one end thereof to overlap each other, a thrust disk (11) connected to a rotating rotor and placed on the elastic foils (15), and bent springs (17) interposed between the elastic foils (15) and the plate (13) in the overlapping area of the elastic foils (15) for supporting the elastic foils (15)...

An improved foil thrust bearing having a thrust runner and a thrust plate includes an underspring element positioned adjacent to the thrust plate. The underspring element comprises, in one embodiment, a plurality of alternating first apertures and spring portions, with at least one spring portion having a periodic configuration and comprising a leading edge and a trailing edge. The periodic configuration is defined by a plurality of pitches that vary between the leading and trailing edges. Also ...