The present invent ion relates t a bearing dam r element.

In particular _? the invent ten is meant for applicatio in relating machines, such as for example turbo m chi es or screw- ype compressors, in, which a shaft of a rotor is set up .rotata l.y in the housing: of the machine by means of a number of bearings .

It is known that machines which rotate at high speed often, contend with vibration proiblems within one or several particular speed ranges, predominantly when there are resonances in these ranges.

In such ranges, the vibration level can become so high that damage occurs inside t e machine.

In some cases, it is possible to avoid this problem by avoiding these speed ranges,

That implies that one will try o avoid such speeds and at the moment when it is necessary to sw tch through these speed ranges when accelerating or slowing down, it will be done quickl to thus void or at least limit d ma e:, if any - It goes without saying that it is more desirable to design a i&achins in such, a y t at these vibration problems are not present or onl to a very limited ex ent*

That requires the adjustment of the rotor dynamics, which are mostly determined by the rigidity of the (rotating^ shaft of the machine and/or the rigidity of the bearings of the shaft. i\e the cons ruc ion and assembly of the machine lays down, strict dimensions, adjusting the rigidity of the shaft of the machine is extremel limited, such that adjusting the rigidity of the bearings is often a better choice, in so far the bearing dimensio ing allows it,,

Its vibratio problems can never be fully excluded, it is preferential to also provide the bearings with some damping characteris ics which «111 ensure that the occurring vibrations are reduced to an acceptable level.

Liquid bearings are known which al eady have damping characteristics and can also rotate at very high speeds, and therefore ar particularly suitable for use in turbo m chines however, liquid bearings generate greater bearing losses than roller bearings. Moreover, liquid bearings can be subject to unstable behaviour which can be very destructive. Such risk of unstable behaviour is inherent to the rotation of. the shaft in a liquid fiim> That is hy roller bearings are also used often. To solve the disadvantage of such roller hearings, more sped fi.rally the fact that they have no or practical ly no damping characteristics, they are often used in high-speed ap lications in combina ion with so-c lled bearing d&raper lements.

Please note that roller bearings refer to ail bearings that consist of at least two rings be ween which .tolling elements roll over ranters in these rings > Th rolling els enta can be ball-s a ed, cylindric ,, conical or barrel-shaped .

& first possible bearing damper element is a so-called ^sguirrel cage damper" consisting of a projecting element, the "squirrel cage", whic will take care of the rigidity and position a ring around (or ini the bearing such that beteeen this ring and the bearing there fa a precise gap, the damper gap. n this damper gap a thin, film is applied, the ^¾ squeeze fi i.ra'% which is responsible for the damping. Usual ly oil or another, to a leaser or greater extent, viscous liquid, is used for this thin firm,

An example of such '"squirrel cage damper" is described in the article ^iS De ign and application of squeeze fil dampers in rotating machinery" by Fewad. Y, ¾eidan - Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth T¾rbom:achinery Symposium, Tarbomachinery Laboratory, Texas i^ ultivers.ity, pi69 ~ 180, 1 96.

Although both the rigidity and the dampi g characteristics can be adjusted, it is a disadvantage of such, 'hsquirrel cag« dam er" that it is no only expensive,- but also takes up a lot of room, particularly in the axial direction or sense,: n additional disadvantage Is that all coTmqonents of the ^w squirrel cage damper" need to be manufactured and finished to very exact specifica ions, because the tltiefcness of the dam e gap, which determines the thickness of the thin i iim, needs to be determined, precisely to obtain the desi ed d mping cha acteristics _*

I US 2009263057 n alternative bearing damper element is described, whereby in one ring of the roller bearing, slits are made by .means of ¾?ire O; or wire eiect rod!scharge machi ing _*

By filling the slits with a viscous liquid, such as e.g. oil, a thin fi im damper ( ^< squeeze film damper" } is created. Moreo er, t e: form of the slits creates a sort of leaf springs whi.cn will determine the rigidit or the damper and thus the rigidity of the support of the shaft in the bearing damper element This means these slits simultaneously create thin film dampers and leaf springs-

The creation of the spring and the damper in one component _f i.e. the inner ring or the outer ring of th roller bearing.,- not only results in a compact design, but also a! lows the damper gap to be determined ver precisely. e: bearing damper element in US 200926305? has a number of disadvantages .

First of ail, the slits are relatively long, such th t, it is not possible to guarantee that t is slits ar lways completely filled with oil , hic is necessary for the efficient operation of the bearing dam er element.

Secondly., the combined damper and spring system e ns it is difficult to achieve certain rigidity in combination with a particula damping capacity as both are very strongly connected.

The combined spring and damper behaviour of a certain design is ver difficult to predict and ny complex simulations are often necessary.

Moreover, it is not certain that a particular combination cf rigidity and damping can be realised.

The combined damper and spring sy te ; also results in a design with several concentric thin film dampers. Consequently, the force in the radial direction will foe accommodated by several thin film dampers in series, such that every thin film damper will become lose effective and the damping capacity decreases.

Furthermore, it is not possible either to make a split design, as the thin film damper cannot foe intersected. The purpose of tee present invention is to provide a solution to at leas one of the aforementioned and other d :. sadvantages , he object of the present invention is a bearing damper element which comprises a ring cou ed between a rotav. rug object and a supporting object whic supports the ring, whereoy the ring comprises at least three slits through the thickness of the ring in th axial direction and at a distance of the rsoluj. inner and outer surface of the ring, characterised in that at least half of the slits have one or more damping parts with a ma mum width of 0.5 millimetres, whereby the damping parts ate concentric and do not overlap.

\8iit' ^' here refers to a groove, spilt, incision or the like, whereby it is important that these slits extend through, th entire thickness of the ring in an axial direction .

First of aii, the advantage of such bearing da per element is that it is very compact, more specifically in the axial directs or, certain iy compared to the known hsquirrel cage dampers' ,

Tors provides the advantage that by making some (parts of the) slits thinner, they will have damping characteristics, whereby they are at least partially uncoopied from the spring characteristics of the othe (parts of the) slits. In other words, different types of (parts of) slits exis , which will each predominantly have ano her characte istic, i.e. either predominantly d mping characteristics, or predominantly sp ing characteristics ,

That results in a design in which the damping characteristics are less coupled to the spring characteris ics o the bearing da.mper element, s ch that a particular rigidit cars be realised without i fluencing the damping capaci y . furthermore, by using several slits they can be made shorter, such tha it can be gua anteed that they can be comple el filled with a vi cons liquid.

Another advantage is that by avoiding that these damping parts do hot overlap, no concentric buffering film dampers are created, such that, every thus created buffering film damper will have a maximum damping capacity.

Preferably at least half of the slits have one or mo damping parts if the number of slits is even and all elite hav one or more damping parts if the number of slits i uneven.

The advantage is that the design of the bearing damper element can always foe made symmetrically.

Preferably, at least a part of the slits, and preferably every slit, is on both ends provided with a hole through th thickness of the ring in the asia 1 direction . This hole, or oavtty, perfor t on o the ii ke, will alleviate: the stress concentrat ion. which ma develop during the use of the bearing dantper element at the end of the s1it s »

Furthermore, such holes are often also necessary to fee able to create the slits in the ring whereby first these holes are drilled to subsequently put through wire, s ch that the slits can he cut by means of wire eiectrodiseharge machining. The holes can be isade with other techniques than drilling, e.g. die-sink electrical discharge machining, laser drill ing, etc.

According to a preferred characteristic of the invention,, at least one slit has one or -store spring parts with a mirvimuc; width wh ich is greater than the width of the damping par s .

Sy providing a minimum width for the spring parts of the slits, a structure can he provided in the ring which will have a certain flexibility or spring function and which in othe words will have a certain rigidity.

Indeed, the slits hav a flexibility until they are closed by the vibrations, such that slits that are too narrow or thin are closed too quickly by the vibrations and thus have very little flexibility. B guaranteeing a. minr nm width fo the spring parts, this can be avoided. In a practical embodiment at least a par of the damping parte of one or more silts are filled with ·¾ viscous liquid.

It is not excluded of course that ail damping parts of all slits are filled wit the viscous liquid.

This will create a thin film daoper in. these slits. With the help of such thin film damper a rela ively high damping can he achieved in limi ed space, which is not always possible in other types of damping, e.g. with the help of rubber <

In preferred embodiments _, ,, measures a e taken to ensure that the total length of the damping parts can he as long as possih!e .

This i.s possible for instance by snaking sure the spring parts of the slits at least partially overlap with the d o ing parts or because the damping parts are further away iron the centre or the middle point of the ring than the spring pa ts.

The invention also relates to a roller bearing or a liquid bearing whereby the inner ring or the en er ring of the roller bearing or liquid bearing comprises a bearing damper element according to the invention.

The invention also relates to a compressor element whereby it contains at least one bearing damper element according to inven i , which is mounted on th shaft of a rotor o the compressor element which is set to compress gas- he in en ion also relates to a method to manufacture a hearing damper element according to the invention, whereby the ethod comprises the following; steps :

- the creation o holes through the thickness of the ring in the axial direction by means o drilling, laser drill ing and/or die-sink electrical discharge machini g;

- the creation of elite between the holes by means of wire electrics1 discharge machining or abrasive wire cut ing With the intentio of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a few preferred variants of a bearing damper element according to the invention, a bearing and compressor lement equipped with such bearing damper element and a method to menu actere such bearing damper element are described hereinafte by way of an example without any limiting nature, with. reference to the aceerneany ing d awlngs _f whorein; figu e 1 sehemat leal iv shews a bearing according to the invention, mounted in a compressor element around the shaft of the rotor;

figu 2 schematically shows a perspective view of the hearing damper element of figure 1;

figure 3 shows a cross-section according to the line !! i-ii :r in figure 1;

figu e 4 shows a variant of figure 3? figures S to t ^' Q show alternative embodiments of f.-i.au res 3 and 4.

Figure 1 schematically sh s a part of a rotor shaft 1 supported: in a compressor el men; ? by me ns of a roller bearing 3 according to the invent loo.. Instead of the presented roller hearing 3 a liquid bearing could also be applied.

The compressor element could for example be a screw compressor element or a turbo compressor element. he rolle bearing 3 comprises an inner ring 4a end an outer ring 4b _f with rolle elements 5 in e ween, whereby the outer ring 4b in this case is made a a bearing damper element 6 according to the invention.>

It is of course also possible that the inner ring 4a of the roller bearing 3 is m.ade as a bearing damper element 6 according to the invention _*

The bearing 3 with the bearing damper element 6 is mounted on tbe shaft. 1 of the rotor of the compressor element 2, which is set to compress gas.

The bearing damper element 6 is schematically shown in figure 2 and a cross-section in figure 3.

A is clearly isible in these figures,, the bearing damper element comp ises a ring 7. Preferably, but no necessarily for the invention., this ring 7 is made of a metal, ft. material from which the rolle bearing 3 can be manufactured is suitable to manufacture th bearing da per element 6 from,

5

A number of slits 8 have been made in the ring 7.

According to the invention there are at least three slits 8, and in the example of figures 2 and 3, ther are eight 10 slits 8,

Thes slits 8 are made through the entire thickness A of the ring 7 in the axial direction X-X' .

IS According to the invention the slits 8 are at a distance of the radial Inne and outer surface ¾a, 9b o th ring ? _f such that the slits do not end or start at on of these surfaces 9a,. 90.

2.0 Half of these silts 8 have damping part 8a. that will creat a particular damping capacit of the bearing damper element 6 _f whereby these damping parts 8a. are maximum 0. millimetres wide, in this case 0.15 millimetres for: example.

?;5

In this case four of these slits 8 are 0.15 _: millimetres wide ove their entire length, which means the damping art 8a comprises th entire slit 8. The othe four slits 8fa are wid r ,

30 Of course, it is also possible that only a part or several parts of these tour sli ts $ are maxiru¾T¾. 0.5 mi 1 !,i?se res viio-e arid that the other part or the other parts of these slits 8 are wider..

It .is also possible that some silts 8 are m ximum 0,5 nulli etres wide over their entire length, a nu be of other slits 8 are partially maximum 0.5 fa l limetres wide and the othe slits 8 are wi er t an -5 Ml lime es ove their enti e length, it is also possible that the dam ing parts 8a are ruaximus 0.25 Millimetres wide for e m le.

Said damping parts 8a of the slits, i.e. the narrow parts of the silts 8, are concentric and do not overla _*

^Concent ic' in this case means ^concentric in relation to the middle point 10 or the centre 10 of the axis 10 of the ring ?* , but that is not necessary for the invention- The damping parts 8a can also be concent no in relation o another point.

In this way, prior to mounting in the compressor, element 2, the damping parts 8a of the bearing damper element 6 nan tee made concentric for example in. relation to a point that has somewhat shitted in relation to the geomet ical 1 y determined middle point. 10 to ensure that Irs. a mounted condition after flexure by the weight or the shaft and everything attached to it _r the dam ing parts 8a are concen ric in relation to the geometric middle point 10 of: the ring 7.. In this case, but not: necessarily, the cpping parts 8a surround more than 80% ot the axis 10 of the ring 7, and In the exam le more than 90¾ even, more speci ically approximately 95%. The greater the part of the axis 10 of the ring 7 which is surrounded by the dam i g parts 8a, the greater the cam tag capacity of the bearing damper element 6. This co fig r tion makes i t possible to realise a bearing dam r: el ment 8 with a sufficiently high damping capacity in a compact design, which will help to keep the costs low of both the bearing damper element 6 itself and of the bearing i or the compressor el ment 1 in which it is applied. Because they do not overlap, said proble with several thin bolterlag Ihl dampers rn series can be avoided,

According to the preferred embodiment of the invent ion,, at least one silt 8 has one or more spring parts 8b with a mini tm- width that is greater than the width of the damping parts 8a, in this esse 0,5 millimetres for am le-

Preferably, the spring parts 8b are at least 0.3 millimetres wide.

These spring parts 8h will create a kind of leaf springs as it were which will oetern i ne the rigidity of the bearing damper element 8 -

Preferably at least half of the slits 8, comprise one or more soon spring parts 8b or wide parts. In this case half of the slits S _f i.e. four slits 8 completely consist of spring parts 8b _f with a width, greater than the width of the damping parts 8a, in this case 0.5 millimetres ,

Here also i is possible the slits 8 are only 0.5 millimetres wide over part of their length and are narrower over the other part of thei length for example. It is also possible that the slits 8 are (at least) 0.3 mi.Il ime es wide instead of 0.5 millimetres: over a part of their length.

As shown in figure 2, and in the cross-sec ion in figure 3, the spring parts 8b overlap i.e. the wide parts, at least parti lly with the damping parts 8 .

^¾ 0ve lapping slits' me ns that a line that runs throug the middle point 10 o th centre 10 f the ring ^" ' _f will, intersect the slits in ques ion 8.

Preferably the sprin parts 8b overla least 50%, preferably at. least 15% and even mor preferably at least 85% with the damping parts 8a . In the shown example this is even more than 95% . The advantage: of this is t at: the damping parts 8a can be made as long as possible.

It can also fee deduced from the figures 2 and 3 that the slits 8 through the thickness A of the ring 7 in the axial direction X-x' are point symmetrical and rotation symmetrical in relation to the axis 10 or the middle point 10 or the cent e 10 of the ri g 7. ch design will simplify the manof ctare of the bearing da element: h.

The slits 8 a e rovided on both e ds II with a. hole 11 through the thickness A of the r nn; 7 in. the axial direction X-X ^? . s already indicated, these holes 11 have a stress reducing function to lighten the stress which are created during the use of the bearing damper element 6 at the end 11 of th slits 8,

The dimensions of these holes 11 are such that a cylinder fits through these holes 11 wit a diameter that is greater than twice _. , and preferably three im.es, the width of the silt 8, In this case fo exam le the diameter of a cylinder that fits through he hole ^' s 11 is 2 millimetres.

In this case the holes ,11 ere drop- or tear-shaped. That is not necessary for the i vent ion, the holes 11 can also be circular, but by making the holes 11 drop- or tear-shaped,, the stress concentration there can be reduced,

According to a preferred characteristic of the i vention, at least a part of the damping parts 8a of one or more slits 8 is filled with a iscous li uid, such as for example synthetic oil or the like.

Consequen ly, a thin film damper will be created, which will ensure that the ^' be ring damper element 6> and in par ic l the d m ing parts 8a of the slits 8, vii.Il have d mping capacI y.

To this end the ring 7 is provided with a 1 i qn id inlet 12 through which said viscous iiquid can be supplied to one or mors- damping parts 8a of one or mora slits 8.

In. this case the ring 7 is provided with eight suc liquid inlets 12 _f hut that is not necessar for the invention.

The liquid inlets 12 have the form of radial perforatlone in the radial outer surface b which continue to the slits 8 , The perforations do not continue to the radial inner su face 9 ,

Through these liquid inlets 12 the Iiquid can be supplied i.o all damping parts 8a of the sli s 8 suc that these parts can foe filled with the liquid. In this case, but not necessarily for the invention,, there are two such liquid inieta 12 for ever slit 8 consisting of d m ing parts 8 . The advantage is that it is possible to ensure that the entire slit 8 Is filled with the liquid.

Because there are severe i slit 8 _f the slits 8 are les long and it is possible to guarantee that every slit 8 is completely filled wit the viscous liquid.

The ring 7 is also provided with, a ring-shaped groove 13 in the radial outer surface 9b of the ri g 7 to lead said viscous liquid via a liquid supply 14, which, is provided in th compressor elanient 1 fo ex-r-iple, to th liquid .inlets 12 and thus to the dam ing parts in question 8s o the slits S.

I is not excluded that the perforations axe located in the radial inner surface 9a _r whereby the ring-shaped groove 13 is provided in the radial inner surface 9a.

To avoid the: rapid outflow or the viscous liquid from the silts 8 the hearing damper element 6 is provided with one or more seals that ara _: : located next to the open ends of the silts 8. These seals are not shown on the figures.

The operation of the hearing damper element 6 is very simple and as follows.

During the operation of the compressor element 2, there will be vibrations as a result of the rotating rotors.

These vibrations will at least b partially dampened by the damping parts 8a of the slits 8 that are filled wit oil, b means of the operation of the thin fil damper.

If it were apparent that the vibrations cannot be dampened enough,, the spring parts 8b of the slits 8 oting as leaf springs: will accommodat the vibrations and avoid that they can continue in the machine 1 and oause damage in this way.

Although i the aforementioned example the damping parts 8a of the slits 8 have a width of 0,15 millimetres, it is not excluded that the damping parts 8a of th slits 8 have another width, Wit a calculation model the width, of the d m ing r ^' s Sa and the thickness of the ring in the axial direction can be dete mined to reaii.se a certain desi ed damping. In this case the thickness of v.he ring in the axi i direction is 32 millimetres for exam le . The inner diameter of the ring 7 is 55 m ilioetree and the ou e diameter of the ring 7 is 100 millimetres . In this case the hearing damper element 6 is used to dampen a single row cylindrical roller bearing of the type hu ^' iil which is mounted Inside.

The advantage is that less viscous liquid can leak from the damping parts 8a, the damping capacity can be guaranteed better,, such that less viscous liquid needs to be sup lied.

Although in the forement ioned example the spring parte 8b of the silts 8 have a. width of 0,5 millimetres, it is not excluded that the spring parts 8b have another width and preferably are at least twice and even more preferably at least three times wider than the wid h of the damping parts 8a.

The advantage is that better spring characteristics can he achieved, Indeed, a spring part 8b or a slit 8 shall only oe able to accomodate vibrations until the slit 8 is ^v eIosed' , which means a wider slit 8 will be able to accommodate mote vibrations. method according to r.he invention for the manufacture of a hearing damper element 8 as shown in figures 2 and 3, comprises the following steps: - the creation of holes 11 through the thickness A of the ring 7 i the axial direction X--X' by means of drilling _. , laser drilling and/o die-sink electrical discharge machining;

- the creation of slits 8 between the holes: 11 by means of wire electrical discharge machining or abrasive wire catting.

For the creation of the slits 8, the: wir of the machine will fo guided through the holes II provided in the first step -

For every slit 8 the wire of the machine will have to be stretched or mounted again. Construction-technical ly it is therefore preferable to manufacture a bearing dampe element 6 with as few slits .8 as possible, as this will drastically reduce the manufacturing time.

Figur 4 shows a variant of figure 3, whereby the difference lies in the fo m of the .liquid inlets 12. The perforations get narrower in the location where they intersect th slits 3. For the rest this embodiment is identical to that of figure 3.

Figure 5 shows yet another variant, whereby in this case the wide slits 8b have an adapted form and i this case are provided with an S-shaped part 15. This form is optimised to Gradual l accommodate the stress. It is possible because the slits 8b do not have a damping function, suc that the form thereof can be adapted without it having a negative effect on the damping function of the bearing dsrper element 6..

A! chough in this embodiment the li uid inlets 12 have not been drawn, it is of course ossibl that the are present, for example In the form of ose in figure 3 or A,,

Figure 6 shows yet another embo iment of figure 3, whereby the differenc lies in the form of the holes 11 at the end 11 of the slits 8: they are now circular instead of drop- or tear-shaped.

Moreover the ends 11 of the slits 8 are bent fovard the radial inner or outer surface 9a, 9b of the ring 7, the purpose of which is not to affect the dam ing effect.

The variant of figure 7 relates: to a bearing: damper element 6 with only four sli s 8,· whereby every slit 8 is provided with three holes 1 _r 1 a: one at every e d 1 , and one hole 11a in the middle: of the sli 81 rvery silt 8 has both wide spring part 8b and a narrow damping part 8a _:f whereby the hole Ila in the middle of the slit 8 marks the division or transition,

The hole Ila in the middl of the slits 8 can also he left out. It is also possible that ail holes II, Ila are left out. If the slits 8 are realised b wire electrical discharge machining, obviousl at least one hole 1:1 must be provided for every slit to be able to stretc the wire. By combining spring par 8b with damping parts 8 in one slit 8 , a bearing damper eleren 6 can be create wi th fewer slits 8 than in the preceding em odimen s.

As there are fewer slits 8, the manufacture of the bearing dara er element: 6 ^' by me s of wire electrical discharge machining or abrasive wire cutting will take less time, because the wire: needs to be stretche or mounted again less often ,

Furthermore, this combinatio mea s the length of one damping part 8a will not be longer than in the previous embodiments:, suc that it is still possibl to guarantee that the entire damping part 8a will be filled with oil.

In figure 7 the dampin parts 8a are located on the inside, i.e. closer to the centr 10, and the spring parts 8b are located on the outside, but. vice ^ersa is also possible. If the damping parts 8a are located on the otfside, a slightly bigger total da pin capacity is possible ,.

Figure B is a variant of figure 7, whereby in this case the holes 44 at the ends of the slits 8 are again, drop- or tear-shaped:. This has the advantage that the variant according: to figure 8 ca foe made: in a more compact way than the embodiment according to figure 7,

In the variants of figures 7 and 8, the damping parts 8a are further from the centre 10 or the middle point 1 of the ring ? than the spring parts 8b, Causing the length of these damping parts 8a to be longer. Clearly it is not excluded that the variants of figure 7 d 8 have more than four slits 8 _f e.g. six slits or even more _*

Figure S shows another variant. although the design of the sli s 8 or this bearing damper element 6 is le s compact■, an entire uncoupling of the datRping characteristics and the spring characteristics is indeed possible in this case.

There are si slits ft, whereby every slit 8 has a curved or bent spring part 8b, a damping part 8a in the shape of a circula se ment and curved or bent spring part 8b successively. The ends 11 of the silts 3 are provided wind holes 11. Contrary to figure 10, no ^' holes 11a are provided here, The spring parts 8b of consecutive slits 8 are nested in each other as it were .

The curved or bent spring parts 8b are designed in a ¾ay to achieve a r-ax.i ;η;τη reduction of the occurring stress,

As shown in figure B _t the dam ing pa t 8a are located closer to the centre 10 o middle point 10 of the ring 7 than th spring parts . Figure 10 shows a very similar design,: whereby the d m ing parts 8a are Ideated slightly further from the centre 10 or middle point 10 o the ring 7. Additionally, every silt 0 is provided with four holes 11 , 11a; two holes 1 at the ends ox the slit 8 and. a hole 1 a ev ry ransition between sprino part Sb and. damping part 8a.

It is also possible that holes 11 , I. la are provided, in the same way that it is possible that the embodiment in figure 9 is provided with holes 11 at the ends of the slit S and a hole 11a at every transition, between spring part 8b and damping part 8a.

Although the design of figures and. I0 ^: is less compact than that of figures 3 to 8 , the advantage of these two embodiments is that the spring characteristics and the damping characteristics are completely uncoupled, this means that to realise a certain rigidity, the appropriate spring parts Sb can be designed and. independently of this the damping parts 8a can be designed to realise a desired dam ing capacity.

In a 11 preceding embodiments, but not necessary for the invention, the distance between the damping parts 8a and the radial surface 9a, 9b of the ring ? located closest to the campi g part Be is greater than 15% and preferably greater than 20 of the radios of this radial surface 9a, 9b.

This has the advantage tham the slits 8 are not located too closely to these radial surfaces 9a, 9b. In he embodiments of figures: 3 to 8 a split design is possible.

This -leans that the bearing damper ele ent 6 consists of two par s, with a dividing plane 16 that does not intersect a damping part 8a, as the damping parts 8 of the slits 8 must not be intersected because otherwise the damping characteristics are cancelled our ,

Sooh dividing plane 1 has been indicated in figures 3 to 8, I is clear that thanks to the symmetryi several dividing plane® 16 are possible for every embodiment.

An advantage of such split design is that the moun ing or installation of the bearing damper element 6 can be done without having to dismantle the entire compressor, element 2, as both, parts of the bearing damper element 6 can be placed around the rotor shaft 1 instead of the bearing damper element 6 having to be slid over the end of the rotor shaft 1.

The present invention is by no means limited to the embodimen s described as an exam l and shown in the. drawings, but a bearing dampe element according to the invention,, a bearing and compressor element equipped with such bearing damper element and a method o manufacture such bearing damper element, can be realised n all kinds of f s, dimensions and variants without departing from the scope o the invention.