General Electric Company
EXTERNALLY PRESSURIZED FLUID-FILM BEARING SYSTEM INCLUDING HERMETIC FLUID DAMPER WITH PASS-THROUGH CHANNELS

Abstract:

A bearing system including a frequency independent damper assembly and a bearing pad assembly. The damper assembly includes a housing, a plunger, a moving central post and a support spring. The plunger is movable within a housing to define a first primary damper cavity and a second primary damper cavity. The moving central post has defined therein a fluid channel for a pressurized working fluid flow. The support spring includes a plurality of flexible elements coupled to the housing and disposed radially outward of the first and second primary damper cavities. The support spring defines first and second accumulator cavity. A flow-through channel couples the first accumulator cavity to the second accumulator cavity. In an embodiment, the flow-through channel may be disposed within the moving central post. The bearing pad assembly includes a bearing pad including a plurality of bearing pad orifices coupled to the fluid channel in the moving central post.