Hydrodynamic bearings having strain sensors
First Claim
1. A hydrodynamic bearing, comprising:
- a housing;
a bearing pad within said housing for supporting a rotating shaft positioned through said housing;
a bearing pad support positioned between said bearing pad and said housing to support said bearing pad;
a fiber optic strain sensor extending through said bearing pad support into said bearing pad for sensing a load exerted by said shaft on said bearing pad.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A hydrodynamic bearing includes a fiber optic sensor for measuring static and dynamic bearing forces or loads during operation. The fiber optic sensor is positioned within the bearing through the most direct load path, which is through the pad support for a tilting pad style bearing. In additional to being positioned in the pad support of a tilting pad bearing, the sensor is also placed 1) inside the pad support or on the pad support structure, and 2) oriented perpendicularly with the shaft centerlines. After the sensor location is chosen and the sensor is properly positioned, a calibration procedure is utilized to determine the relationship between the radial load and measured strain for the specific bearing. Once the calibration factor has been determined, the sensor may be utilized in the bearing to measure load during operation.
56 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A hydrodynamic bearing, comprising:
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a housing;
a bearing pad within said housing for supporting a rotating shaft positioned through said housing;
a bearing pad support positioned between said bearing pad and said housing to support said bearing pad;
a fiber optic strain sensor extending through said bearing pad support into said bearing pad for sensing a load exerted by said shaft on said bearing pad. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for measuring bearing load, comprising the steps of:
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providing a bearing comprising a housing, a bearing pad within said housing for supporting a rotating shaft, a bearing pad support positioned between said bearing pad and said housing, and a fiber optic strain sensor extending into said bearing pad through said bearing pad support;
sensing a load exerted by said shaft on said bearing pad and said bearing pad support with said strain sensor; and
converting a light signal produced by said strain sensor in response to said load into an electrical voltage. - View Dependent Claims (10)
providing a horizontal support member with a non-rotating shaft attached to an upper surface thereof;
providing a looped cable attached to a calibrated static force sensor which is attached to a tension device;
positioning said bearing flat on said support member with said non-rotating shaft engaged against said bearing pad;
positioning said looped cable around said bearing with said tension device radially opposite said bearing pad;
varying tension on said cable with said tension device to adjust said load on said bearing pad to generate an optical signal in said strain sensor;
converting said optical signal into a load measurement; and
comparing said load measurement to a calibration force measured by said calibrated static force sensor.
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Specification