Patent ID: 8646981
Filing Date: 2014-02-11
Classification: F04D,F16C,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A bearing assembly comprising: a first tilting pad bearing assembly comprising a body and plurality of tilting pad bearings, each tilting pad bearing comprising a polycrystalline diamond (PCD) layer attached to a base layer, the plurality of tilting pad bearings being circumferentially spaced about the body and defining a first collective bearing surface, the PCD layer of at least one tilting pad bearing includes a plurality of PCD elements each of which is contiguous with an adjacent one of the plurality of PCD elements of the tilting pad bearing to define a first substantially continuous surface; a runner bearing comprising a PCD layer comprising a plurality of PCD elements coupled to a base layer defining a second collective bearing surface; wherein the first tilting pad bearing assembly and the runner bearing are positioned and configured to move relative to each other with the first collective bearing surface being in contact with the second collective bearing surface, each of the plurality PCD elements of the runner bearing is contiguous with an adjacent one of the plurality of PCD elements to define a substantially continuous surface.