Patent ID: 8079761

Claim:
A plain bearing assembly for a wind turbine configured to receive a shaft, comprising: a bearing housing including a passageway configured to receive the shaft therein; a bearing surface defining the passageway and having a generally cylindrical configuration, the bearing surface including a lower portion and an upper portion defined relative to a first midline plane extending through a center of the passageway and generally perpendicular to a gravitational field, the bearing surface further including a first side and a second side defined relative to a second midline plane extending through a center of the passageway and generally parallel to the gravitational field; and a plurality of fluid cavities in the bearing surface, at least one fluid cavity being located in the lower portion of the bearing surface and at least one fluid cavity being located in the upper portion of the bearing surface, wherein the at least one fluid cavity located in the lower portion of the bearing surface further comprises a first pair of longitudinally spaced fluid cavities on the first side of the bearing surface, and a second pair of longitudinally spaced fluid cavities on the second side of the bearing surface.