Claims
- 1. A method for supporting a pump rotor shaft for rotation, comprising:making near line contact around a circumference of said pump rotor shaft to limit radial movement of said pump rotor shaft such that a locus of width of said near line contact is less than about 0.010 inches; limiting axial movement of a shaft end of said pump rotor shaft, wherein said step of limiting axial movement comprises; initially making point contact at said shaft end of said pump rotor shaft; and rotating said pump rotor shaft to wear said point contact at said shaft end so that planar contact is made at said shaft end.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:selecting a profile of said shaft end so that said wear results in axial end-play change of less than about 0.005 inches.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein:forming said shaft end from a material that has a hardness less than the hardness of an end bearing surface that engages said shaft end.
- 4. A method for supporting a pump rotor shaft for rotation, comprising:making near line contact around a circumference of said pump rotor shaft to limit radial movement of said pump rotor shaft such that a locus of width of said near line contact is less than about 0.010 inches; limiting axial movement of a shaft end of said pump rotor shaft; and controlling wear of said shaft end so that wear occurs rapidly during initial operation of said pump rotor shaft but then slows down and substantially ceases.
- 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:providing a radiused end of said pump rotor shaft; and controlling said change in length of said pump rotor shaft caused by wear by selecting a radius of curvature of said radiused end.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/644,579 filed Jun. 17, 1996 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,672). This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/644,579, filed May 10, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,745 on Aug. 11, 1998.
Government Interests
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under a NASA contract and is subject to the provisions of Section 305 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-568 (72 Stat 435; 42 U.S.C. 2457).
US Referenced Citations (18)