The Pivoted Slider Bearing Design Variables

The shoe is held in position by the equilibrium between the load it carries and the counterthrust generated by the flow of the lubricating fluid. Each element of thrust has a moment with respect to the origin of the coordinate system such that 

The pressure distribution is asymmetric and x does not coincide with the midpoint of B, the projected length of the shoe. If the bearing is designed so that the pivot is located at Xp, the angle a will adjust according to the load to shift the inclination of the shoe and equalize the moments about the pivot. 

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