An oil film bearing for rotatably supporting a roll in a rolling mill is provide that includes a sleeve having an internal bore and an external spherical surface, the internal bore being configured and dimensioned for axial insertion onto a neck of the roll. A bushing includes an internal spherical surface configured and dimensioned to surround and rotatably contain the external spherical surface of the sleeve, the bushing being subdivided into multiple interconnected segments. A chock for containing and radially supporting the interconnected bushing segments.

To increase the load-carrying capacity or rolling capacity of a roll assembly in a rolling mill, throttle elements are used, which shut off the lateral flow of the lubricating film in a partial region between the roll neck and the bearing surface of the roll neck bearing assembly, thereby bringing about an increase in pressure in the lubricating film. At least one throttle element is embodied as an annular segment, forming an angular shut-off region for the lubricant in the annular gap. The invention makes it possible for existing installations to be easily retrofitted, without the need for structural modifications. In the case of new installations, the same load-carrying capacity as before can be provided while the dimensions of the installation space are reduced. The load-carrying capacity of the bearing assembly can be flexibly adjusted based on the dimensions of the shut-off region for the flow of lubricant.

A novel bushing (300) is disclosed as used in a bearing in a rolling mill, where a feature of length l is introduced on the inboard portion (301) of an outer surface (303) of the bushing (300), where the introduced feature allows the bushing (300) to deflect as load increases at a maximum radial deflection of mm. The introduced feature deals with elevated temperatures on the inboard side of the bushing (300) by allowing the bushing to deflect as the load increases.