Load-carrying apparatus, assemblies, and subterranean drilling systems may include a support ring with a plurality of contact elements coupled to the support ring. The plurality of contact elements may have a surface exhibiting a partially cylindrical shape.

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to tilting pad bearing assemblies, bearing apparatuses including the tilting pad bearing assemblies, and methods of using the bearing apparatuses. The tilting pad bearing assemblies disclosed herein include a plurality of tilting pads. At least some of the superhard tables exhibit a thickness that is at least about 0.120 inch and/or at least two layers having different wear and/or thermal characteristics.

A radial bearing apparatus including a housing with a housing bore defining a radial bearing housing surface, a shaft extending through the housing bore and defining a radial bearing shaft surface, and a radial bearing contact interface between the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface for bearing a variable side force applied to the shaft. The radial bearing contact interface includes an oblique section in which the radial bearing housing surface and the radial bearing shaft surface are oblique to each other when the side force is zero and progressively increase in contact in an axial direction in response to an increasing magnitude of the side force.

A rolling bearing includes a first ring, a second ring, at least one row of axial rolling elements arranged between the first ring and the second ring, and at least one thrust ring axially interposed between the axial rolling elements and the first ring and delimiting a raceway for the axial rolling elements. At least one spring system axially biases the thrust ring against the axial rolling elements and includes a piston housed in a through-hole of the first ring and a spring element pressing the piston against the thrust ring. The piston includes a threaded hole accessible from outside the first ring.

A rolling bearing includes an inner ring and an outer ring, at least the inner ring or the outer ring being split into a plurality of successive circumferential ring segments. The rolling bearing further includes at least one alignment member circumferentially interposed between each pair of facing ends of the successive ring segments of the split-ring. The alignment member being secured onto a first one of the facing ends and protruding into a recess formed onto a second one of the facing ends to align the pair of facing ends in radial and axial directions.

A rolling bearing provides an inner ring and an outer ring concentrically about a rotation axis X-X′ running in an axial direction, and at least first and second axial bearings each axially disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring and each having at least one row of rolling elements, the first and second axial bearings being spaced apart from each other in the axial direction. The rolling bearing further provides only one radial bearing radially disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring and having at least one row of rolling elements. The radial bearing is disposed between an outer raceway located on the inner ring and an inner raceway located on the outer ring.

A rotary dynamic system includes: a drill pipe; a bearing coupled at a first axial end to the drill pipe; and an outer sleeve coupled to a second axial end of the bearing. The outer sleeve rotates independently of the drill pipe.

A sliding sleeve opening tool includes an engaging element, a ball seat and a guiding head connected in sequence, as disclosed herein. The engaging element includes at least two elastic pawls uniformly disposed in a circumferential direction and at least one engaging part disposed on an external circumferential surface of an elastic pawl, and the engaging element is further provided with a first fluid channel which runs through the engaging element. The ball seat is provided with a second fluid channel which runs through the ball seat, and within the second fluid channel a taper hole section for bearing a sealing ball is disposed, the second fluid channel being in communication with the first fluid channel. The guiding head is provided with a third fluid channel which runs through the guiding head, and the third fluid channel is in communication with the second fluid channel. The sliding sleeve opening tool has at least one of the pushing function, the fishing function, the pushing assistance function, the mud scraping function and the sealing function.

The present disclosure provides a bearing design that accommodates misalignment of a rotatable shaft in the bearing and is well suited to usage in a particulate-laden fluid. The bearing can be shaped with a curved surface along a longitudinal axis of the bearing, such as in a curved barrel shape or a ball shape, to provide a point contact instead of a line contact as is the case with conventional plain bearings. The point contact allows the bearing to adjust with a misalignment between ends of the shaft or between the external supports and facilitates the assembly and disassembly of the rotating shaft. Because the bearing compensates for misalignment, the bearing surfaces can have closer tolerances for a smaller gap between the bearing surfaces, which can result in improved performance.

An apparatus is provided that includes a diamond bearing surface positioned in sliding engagement with an opposing bearing surface of a diamond reactive material. The opposing bearing surface is hardened via a material treatment.