Description of pot bearings
Introduced nearly 50 years ago, Pot Bearings are now in service in thousands of structures throughout the
USA and the world. There are good reasons for this popularity, all stemming from the confined elastomer
principle.
The elastomeric pot bearing consists of a confined disk of elastomer within a short cylinder (the pot).
Loading is then applied via a close fitting steel 'piston'. This puts the elastomer under high pressure,making
it behave like a liquid, permitting rotation in any direction with very little resistance.
Performances and Classifications of pot bearings
1.Free sliding pot bearing: Has vertical rotation, longitudinal and horizontal gliding performances and its
serial number is SX;
2.One-way sliding pot bearing: Has vertical rotation and one-way sliding performance and its serial
number is DX;
3.Fixed pot bearing: Only has vertical rotation performance and its serial number is GD.
Features of pot bearings
1.Compact -Low overall height.
2.Compact -Small footprint for significant vertical loads.
3.Small shift in centre of pressure due to rotation.
4.Low translation resistance.
5.Can accommodate lateral loading at same time as translation.
6.Specials - To accommodate up lift loadings.
Technical Performance of pot bearing
1.Vertical rotation angle of the bridge Pot bearing should not be less than 40';
2.Vertical bearing capacity (KN) 1000-50000 of the Bridge Pot bearing is divided into 28 grades. Horizontal bearing capacity of the non-gliding
surface is 10% of the vertical.
3.Friction coefficient of the Bridge Pot bearing: Room temperature μ ≤ 0.04
