Hydrostatic bearing methods and structures

摘要

A hydrostatic bearing arrangement includes a supporting member and a supported member, with the supported member borne by a pressurized hydraulic fluid located in a space between the two members. The hydrostatic bearing arrangement includes neither any provision for recirculating the fluid nor any seals for containing the fluid, but relies, instead, upon a particular property of the fluid, i.e., a high intrinsic shear strength, in order to prevent leakage of the fluid past the outer periphery of the space between the two members.