Patent ID: 9461520
Filing Date: 2016-10-04
CPC Classification: F01D,F04D,F05D,F16C,H02K

Claim Text:
1. For cryogenic liquid rotary machinery in a vertical orientation with vertical rotational axis having product-lubricated main bearings separated by a span of shaft and a thrust equalizing mechanism which includes a stationary thrust plate adjacent one of the main bearings and a variable orifice defined between the thrust plate and a throttle plate affixed to the shaft, an improvement comprising a stationary length compensator interposed between the thrust plate and its adjacent main bearing to space said adjacent main bearing from the thrust plate in order to reduce the span between said main bearings, wherein the stationary length compensator is composed of material having low thermal linear contraction such that the stationary length compensator shrinks less than the shaft of the rotary machinery, the height of the length compensator selected such that it is operative between 70 K and 140 K, the operating temperature range of the cryogenic liquid rotary machinery.