Pot bearing, also known as pot rubber bearing, with elastomeric bearing embedded inside of the steel plate, can be divided into fixed pot bearing, guided pot bearing and free sliding pot bearing. Pot bearings are special types of bridge bearings for taking large loads, large horizontal displacements and large rotation requirements in confined areas. The loading capacity of elastomeric bearings is limited, while pot bearings solved this problem, thus pot bearings are often regarded as suitable for use when bridges need large bearing reactions.
Fixed pot bearing is unmoved in all directions. Under loads, the elastomeric bearing pad behaves likes an incompressible confined fluid which enables the rotations on any axis.
Guided pot bearing with steel guide edge can be only moved in one direction. The stainless steel slide and PTFE slide further reduce the friction coefficient and guided pot bearing is used best when horizontal loads are relatively small (less than 20% of vertical Load).