List of figures: Title Page no.

Fig. 3.1 Skewed rollers & cage 4

Fig.3.2 Scoring of roller ends 4

Fig. 3.3 Flaking of rollers & race 4

Fig. 3.4 Bending of cage 4

Fig. 3.5 Pitting of ball 4

Fig. 3.6 Indentation in race 4

Fig. 4.1 Levitating plate 5

Fig. 4.2 Levitating ball 5

Fig. 4.3 Levitating Pencil 5

Fig. 4.4 Levitating train 5

Fig. 5.1 Dimensions of AMB 6

Fig. 5.2 Passive magnetic bearing 6

Fig. 6 Five axis shaft control 7

Fig. 7 Bearing & Sensor Location 8

Fig. 9.1 Rotor flux path 10

Fig. 9.2 Cut section of AMB 10

Fig. 10.1 Overview of Control System 13

Fig. 10.2 Types of Controllers 14

i
List of Tables:

Sr. No. Name Page No.

i List of applications. 22
Abstract:

Electromagnetic components are replacing mechanical components to reduce

moving parts and hence reduce friction and wear. Magnetic bearing drives open new
application domains that are either impossible or severely limited using drives with
conventional bearings. Magnetic bearings are increasingly being used for a large variety
of applications. Their unique features make them attractive for solving classical rotor-
bearing problems in a new way and allow novel design approaches for rotating
machinery.

In recent years it has been possible to reduce substantially the manufacturing costs
of systems in significant areas and thus to achieve a higher degree of acceptance in the
market. Considering the constantly declining price/performance ratio of electronic
components, it can be assumed that in the future the application of magnetic bearing
technology will increase in special industrial applications.

Keywords: Magnetic Bearings, AMB, non contact bearings.

1. Introduction:

A magnetic bearing is a bearing which supports a load using magnetic levitation

Magnetic bearings support moving machinery without physical contact, for example, they
can levitate a rotating shaft and permit relative motion without friction or wear. They are
in service in such industrial applications as electric power generation, petroleum refining,
machine tool operation and natural gas pipelines. Magnetic bearings are used in turbo
molecular pumps where oil-lubricated bearings are a source of contamination. Magnetic
bearings support the highest speeds of any kind of bearing; they have no known
maximum relative speed.

1
2. History:

The evolution of active magnetic bearings may be traced through the patents
issued in this field. The table below lists several early patents for active magnetic
bearings. Early active magnetic bearing patents were assigned to Jesse Beams at the
University of Virginia during World War II and are concerned with ultracentrifuges for
purification of the isotopes of various elements for the manufacture of the first nuclear
bombs, but the technology did not mature until the advances of solid-state electronics and
modern computer-based control technology with the work of Habermann and Schweitzer.
Extensive modern work in magnetic bearings has continued at the University of Virginia
in the Rotating Machinery and Controls Industrial Research Program. The first
international symposium for active magnetic bearing technology was held in 1988 with
the founding of the International Society of Magnetic Bearings by Prof. Schweitzer
(ETHZ), Prof. Allaire (University of Virginia), and Prof. Okada (Ibaraki University).

In 1987 further improved AMB designs were created in Australia by E.Croot but
these designs were not manufactured due to expensive costs of production. However,
some of those designs have since been used by Japanese electronics companies, they
remain a specialty item: where extremely high RPM is required.

Since then there have been eleven succeeding symposia. Kasarda reviews the
history of AMB in depth. She notes that the first commercial application of AMB’s was
with turbo machinery. The AMB allowed the elimination of oil reservoirs on compressors
for the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) gas pipelines in Alberta, Canada. This
reduced the fire hazard allowing a substantial reduction in insurance costs. The success of
these magnetic bearing installations led NGTL to pioneer the research and development
of a digital magnetic bearing control system as a replacement for the analog control
systems supplied by the American company Magnetic Bearings Inc. (MBI). In 1992,
NGTL's magnetic bearing research group formed the company Revolve Technologies
Inc. to commercialize the digital magnetic bearing technology. This firm was later
purchased by SKF of Sweden.

2
 The French company S2M, founded in 1976, was the first to commercially
market AMB’s. Extensive research on magnetic bearings continues at the University of
Virginia in the Rotating Machinery and Controls Industrial Research Program.

Starting from 1996 the Dutch oil and gas company NAM installed over a period
of 10 years 20 large E-motor driven (with variable speed drive) gas compressors of 23
MW fully equipped with AMB's on both the E-motor and the compressor.

These compressors are used in the Groningen gas field to deplete the remaining
gas from this large gas field and to increase the field capacity.

The motor - compressor design is done by Siemens and the AMB are delivered by
Waukesha (owned by Dover). (Originally these bearings were designed by Glacier, this
company is later on taken over by Federal Mogul and now part of Waukesha) By using
AMB's and a direct drive between motor and compressor (so no gearbox in between) and
applying dry gas seals a full so called dry-dry system (=fully oil free) has been installed.
A few of the main advantages by applying AMB's in the driver as well as in the
compressor (compared to the traditional configuration with a gearbox, plain bearings and
a gas turbine-driver) is a relative simple system with a very wide operating envelope,
high efficiencies (particularly at partial load) and also, as done in the Groningen field, to
install the full installation outdoors (no large compressor building needed.

3
3 Failures/Limitations in conventional contact bearings:

Fig. 3.1 Skewed rollers & cage Fig.3.2 Scoring of roller ends

Fig. 3.3 Flaking of rollers & race Fig. 3.4 Bending of cage

Fig. 3.5 Pitting of ball Fig. 3.6 Indentation in race

4
4. Principle of Magnetic Levitation:

Fig. 4.1 Levitating plate Fig. 4.2 Levitating ball

Fig. 4.3 Levitating Pencil Fig. 4.4 Levitating train

5
5. Types of Magnetic Bearings:

Fig. 5.1 Dimensions of AMB Fig. 5.2 Passive magnetic bearing

6
6. Basic operation

Basic Operation for a Single Axis

An active magnetic bearing (AMB) consists of an electromagnet assembly, a set of power

amplifiers which supply current to the electromagnets, a controller, and gap sensors with
associated electronics to provide the feedback required to control the position of the rotor
within the gap. These elements are shown in the diagram. The power amplifiers supply
equal bias current to two pairs of electromagnets on opposite sides of a rotor. This
constant tug-of-war is mediated by the controller which offsets the bias current by equal
but opposite perturbations of current as the rotor deviates by a small amount from its
center position.

The gap sensors are usually inductive in nature and sense in a differential mode. The
power amplifiers in a modern commercial application are solid state devices which
operate in a pulse width modulation (PWM) configuration. The controller is usually a
microprocessor or DSP

Fig. 6 Five axis shaft control

7
 7. Bearing and Sensors:

Fig. 7 Bearing & Sensor Locations

To provide support in more than one direction, magnetic poles are oriented about
the periphery of a radial bearing. This is shown in the drawing on your right. Radial
bearing construction is very similar to that of an electric motor, involving the use of
stacked laminations of steel, around which power coils are wound. Stacked laminations
are also used in the rotor to minimize eddy current losses, which are a very small source
of drag in a magnetic bearing and cause localized heating on the rotor. The sensors are
also oriented about the periphery of the stator, usually inside a ring or individual tubes
mounted adjacent to the actuator poles. Inductive sensors are used, that measure the
inductance of the gap between the sensor and the rotor laminations. Two measurements
are taken for each radial axis and the rotor center position calculated by means of a bridge
circuit.

A typical rotating machine will experience forces in both the radial and axial
directions. Typically, a 5-axis orientation of bearings is used, incorporating 2 radial
bearings of 2 axes each, and 1 thrust bearing.

Thrust bearings provide a magnetic flux path in the axial direction, between 2
stators oriented on either side of a thrust rotor, or disc, mounted on the rotating shaft as
shown below. An axial sensor measures the position of the shaft.

8. Precision:
Precision in rotating machinery means most often how precise can the position of the
rotor axis be guaranteed. This has consequences for machining tools, and for the surface
quality of parts that are being machined by grinding, milling or turning. In addition, the
question of how precise can magnetic bearings become in principle, is of interest for
applications such as optical devices, optical scanner, wafer stepper, or lithography. These
machines and processes are key elements for semiconductor industry. Active magnetic
bearings levitate an object, rotating or not, with feedback control of measured
displacement sensor signal. The performance of AMB systems is therefore directly
affected by the quality of a sensor signal. Precision control is facilitated by the absence of
hysteresis and of deformation-prone heat sources, which touches upon material and
design aspects. The probe type displacement sensors most widely used in AMB system
are very sensitive to the surface quality of a rotor, so they require additional algorithms to
detect and compensate the unnecessary signal contents induced by the geometric errors of
a rotor. Accordingly, on-line control with the probe type sensors becomes more
bothersome and more complicated as soon as high precision is aimed at. Orbits with
rotating errors of 10 to 20 μm have been obtained.

9
9. Operation of AMB:

Fig. 9.1 Rotor flux path

Fig. 9.2 Cut section of AMB

10
Magnetic bearings use electromagnetic coils to suspend or levitate a rotating shaft in
whatever the surrounding medium might be — usually air, but the bearings will function
in a vacuum or other medium. Sensors monitor the shaft’s position and supply those data
to a digital controller. In turn, the controller can change the current in the coils and
thereby change the electromagnetic forces on the shaft. In terms of control loop speed,
these changes happen very quickly, allowing the shaft’s position to be precisely
maintained at very high rotational speeds.

With the rotating shaft suspended in “space,” there is no metal-to-metal contact.

Consequently, magnetic bearings require no lubrication. That means there are no regular
bearing lubrication schedules for compressors with magnetic bearings, and it also means
that no elaborate lubrication systems are required for them.

Generators with magnetic bearings enable the manufacture of smaller, faster units. The
ability to run faster means these generators have greater power density. Consider, for
example, a one-megawatt wind turbine. The generator’s rotor weighs several tons. In a
typical design, the wind drives the turbine blades, which turn a low-speed shaft at 30 to
60 revolutions per minute (rpm). A gearbox converts this rotational speed to about 1200
to 1500 rpm. Contrast the wind turbine with a high-speed generator that operates at
20,000 rpm. A one-megawatt power generator running that fast would have a rotor
weight of less than 100 kilogram. That’s the advantage that speed provides. Low-speed
generators are very large; high-speed generators are small and compact.

Magnetic bearings provide attractive electromagnetic suspension by application of

electric current to ferromagnetic materials used in both the stationary and rotating parts
(the stator and rotor, respectively) of the magnetic bearing. This creates a flux path that
includes both parts, and the air gap separating them, through which non-contact operation
is made possible.
As the air gap between these two parts decreases, the attractive forces increase, therefore,
electromagnets are inherently unstable. A control system is needed to regulate the current
and provide stability of the forces, and therefore, position of the rotor.
11
 The control process begins by measurement of the rotor position with a position sensor.
The signal from this device is received by the control electronics, which compares it to
the desired position, input during machine start-up. Any difference between these two
signals results in calculation of the force necessary to pull the rotor back to the desired
position. This is translated into a command to the power amplifier connected to the
magnetic bearing stator. The current is increased, causing an increase in magnetic flux, an
increase in the forces between the rotating and stationary components, and finally,
movement of the rotor toward the stator along the axis of control.

The entire process is repeated thousands of times per second, enabling precise control of
machinery rotating at speeds in excess of 100,000 rpm.

12
10. Control System:

Fig. 10.1 Overview of Control System

The control system consists of:

• Digital signal processor (DSP electronics)

• Power amplifiers
• Power supply

Additional circuitry is present for conditioning of the signals from the position sensors,
and conversion of the digital outputs from the signal processor to the amplifiers. Finally,
a user interface allows input of the desired rotor position information, and logic to be
coordinated with other machine systems (start-up, warm-up, shutdown, etc.).

Control systems for magnetic bearing systems can be of the analog

or digital type. Analog control systems have been used in magnetic
bearing control for over 30 years, but are rapidly being displaced by
digital control systems.

13
 Fig. 10.2 Types of Controllers

Digital control systems take advantage of the tremendous developments in digital signal
processing over the past decade, and permit more types of control algorithms to be used,
enabling more results to be achieved.

Sub-systems in magnetic bearing digital controllers include position signal processing,

digital signal processing, D/A conversion, power amplifiers and power supply.

Small control systems, suitable for control of a turbomolecular pump, are about the size
of a shoebox, providing as little as 25W of power for the bearing system. Larger control
systems, providing up to 10 kW of power for bearings used in large frame
turbomachinery such as centrifugal compressors, pumps and turbines, are designed to
meet industrial electronic rack standards

14
11. Cost:

The initial cost of a small backup generator using magnetic bearings could be an order of
magnitude greater than the initial cost of system using conventional bearings. Most of the
additional cost is due to the relatively sophisticated system required to control the
bearings. The hardware associated with a magnetic-bearing system is rather inexpensive.
For example, the cost of winding a magnetic-bearing coil is comparable to the cost of
winding a motor stator. By contrast, a magnetic bearing’s control system includes such
items as an advanced digital controller, sensors to monitor shaft position, cables to
convey the shaft-position data to the controller, and other cables to carry the power from
amplifiers in the controller to the bearing’s electromagnetic coils.
So, these new compact machines presently cost more per installed kilowatt-hour than
conventional low-speed generators. Compared to conventional generators, generators
with magnetic bearings are less costly to operate and produce more electrical power per
horsepower expended to run them. There are significantly fewer mechanical losses. If a
driver puts energy into a generator and the bearings consume (via friction) a large
fraction of that energy, less energy is available for generating electricity. The power
consumption of a standard bearing can be ten times that of a magnetic bearing. Reduced
energy consumption has a positive environmental impact, too. As noted, magnetic-
bearing units also have fewer associated maintenance costs than conventional units. That
fact does not mean, however, that magnetic-bearing systems are maintenance free.
Today, there are several kinds of distributed power applications that favor the use of
magnetic-bearing technology in compressors. These applications include 1) operations
with power demands that cannot be controlled or scheduled, 2) operations with excessive
and presently unused potential energy sources, 3) activities in remote, off-the-grid
locations and 4) recovery, rescue, and reconstruction operations at disaster sites.

15
12. Losses:

With contact-free rotors there is no friction in the magnetic bearings. The operation of
active magnetic bearings causes much less losses than operating conventional ball or
journal bearings, but, nevertheless, the losses have to be taken into account, and
sometimes they lead to limitations. Losses can be grouped into losses arising in the
stationary parts, in the rotor itself, and losses related to the design of the control.
Losses in the stationary parts of the bearing come mainly from copper losses in the
windings of the stator and from losses in the amplifiers. The copper losses are a heat
source, and, if no sufficient cooling is provided, can limit the control current and hence
the maximal achievable carrying force. Losses in the rotor part are more complex and
lead to more severe limitations. These losses comprise iron losses caused by hysteresis
and eddy currents, and air drag losses. The losses heat up the rotor, cause a breaking
torque on the rotor, and have to be compensated by the drive power of the motor. In
general, the eddy current losses are the largest ones.

16
13. Magnetic-Bearing System Maintenance and Reliability:

While magnetic-bearing systems require none of the traditional mechanical

maintenance associated with traditional bearing systems, there are, nonetheless, some
diagnostic assessments that should be performed regularly. These evaluations are easily
done, since the control system provides constant feedback about the state of the system.
Among the important diagnostic reviews is a check of internal clearances--the gaps
between the shaft and the mechanical backup bearings that limit the shaft’s axial and
radial movement.
Technicians can keep records over time to verify that a bearing is performing as it
was built to perform. If there has been a change, the techs can document the change and
analyze the data to find the cause.
Another regular maintenance task required for a magnetic-bearing system relates
to the fact that most controllers have cooling systems that circulate air to cool the power
electronics. The filters on these cooling systems require periodic cleaning or replacement.
Frequency of this maintenance is a function of the operating environment’s cleanliness.
Most maintenance tasks for magnetic-bearing systems are common-sense items. What
maintenance personnel do not have to do is lubricate the bearings periodically and
replace them every few years. In other words, magnetic bearings require none of the
upkeep traditionally associated with bearings.
Controller power electronics have finite lives. The mean time between failures for
controllers is roughly eight to 12 years depending on how hard the electronics have been
stressed and if adequate cooling has been provided. End users can expect to make
changes in the power and control systems for magnetic bearing after eight to 15 years of
service. Like an electric motor, a magnetic bearing will last 20 to 30 years, depending
upon the environment in which it operates and how fast the insulation breaks down in
that environment.

17
14. Advantages:

1. High Reliability

With magnetic bearings there is no contact between the rotating and stationary parts,
meaning there is no wear. In most cases failure modes are limited to control electronics,
power electronics, and electrical windings. These components have designs lives far
greater than that of conventional bearings. Magnetic bearings are the only type of bearing
which is fitted with protective back-up bearings. In addition, magnetic bearings have a
built-in overload protection. Magnetic bearings can signal process control equipment to
stop the machine instantaneously in the case of excessive load.

Magnetic bearings are providing high reliability and long service intervals in time critical
applications in semiconductor manufacturing; vacuum pumps; and natural gas pipeline
compression equipment.

2. Clean Environments

In a magnetic bearing system, particle generation due to wear and the need for lubrication
are eliminated. There is therefore no chance of contaminating a clean process with oil,
grease or solid particles.

Magnetic bearings offer a dry, clean and economic solution for semiconductor fabrication
equipment, vacuum pumps, gas and air compressors, and various other turbo machines
that require submersion in a process fluid, even under pressure.

18
3. High Speed Applications

The fact that a rotor spins in space without contact with the stator means drag on the rotor
is minimal. That opens up the opportunity for the bearing to run at exceptionally high
speeds, where the only limitation becomes the yield strength of the rotor material.

Magnetic bearings have been designed with surface speeds up to 250 m/s or 4.5 million
DN, where DN is the diameter of the rotor (mm) times the rotational spend (rpm). In
order to achieve one quarter of this kind of speed with conventional bearings, a complex
lubrication system is required.
No other type of bearing, can match magnetic bearings for shear speed. Magnetic
bearings open new possibilities for extreme high-speed applications such as machine tool
spindles and turbo compressors.

4. Position and Vibration Control

Magnetic bearings use advanced control algorithms to influence the motion of the shaft
and therefore have the inherent capability to precisely control the position of the shaft
within microns and to virtually eliminate vibrations.

Magnetic Bearings offer a straightforward solution to the following problems /

requirements:
Vibration of the rotating part due to unbalance - controlling unbalance vibration is
important in most applications, particularly turbo machinery; machine tool spindles, and
vacuum pumps;

Transmission of vibrations from the moving part to the stationary parts where it is
transmitted to other equipment - important in vibration sensitive applications such as
semiconductor fabrication equipment and analytical instruments;

Precisely controlling the location of the rotor regardless of outside disturbances - high
speed machine tool spindles

Locating the rotor based on some external variable - process equipment and high speed
machine tool spindles

Controlling structural resonance frequencies coming from the rotor or from elastic
supports - high speed turbo machinery and drives

19
5. Extreme Conditions:

Temperature:

The magnetic bearing system is capable of operating through an extremely wide

temperature range. Revolve has applications as low as -256°C and as high as 220°C, thus
allowing operation where traditional bearings will not function.

Corrosive Fluids:
Magnetic bearings can operate in corrosive environments by means of canning both the
stationary and rotating parts.

Pressure:
Magnetic bearings are virtually insensitive to pressure. They can be submerged in process
fluid under pressure without the need for seals, as is the case with conventional bearings.
Magnetic bearings can also operate in vacuum where their operation is even more
efficient due to lack of windage.

6. Equipment Design, Development and Testing:

A magnetic bearing system can be used as an exciter, where the bearing force is
modulated for deliberately exciting vibrations. The excitation force is applied to the rotor
without contact and can be measured exactly. This makes magnetic bearings a valuable
tool in equipment design, development and testing as well as in rotor dynamic research.

7. Machine Diagnostics / Smart Machines:

In order to function, a magnetic bearing must determine rotor position, rotor vibration
and bearing load. This information which is processed in the electronic control cabinet,
can be given as an output to the OEM or end user such that there is a constant knowledge
of the operating state of the machine. This allows the user to detect incipient faults, plan
maintenance and optimize performance.

20
15. Disadvantages/Limitations:

1. Larger Bearings:
Magnetic bearings have a specific load capacity (maximum load per unit of area of
application)lower than most other bearings systems. This results in bearings which may
be physically larger than other similarly specified bearings.

2. Higher Complexity:
The higher complexity of magnetic bearings often means the initial purchase price is
higher than competing technologies. However, magnetic bearings' life cycle cost can
often be less than traditional bearings. This is particularly true where the alternatives are
exotic bearings.

3. Requires Electrical Power:

Magnetic bearing require power to drive the control systems, sensors and electromagnets.

21
16. Applications:

Table 16.1 List of applications:

Machine Tools Aircraft Specialty Equipment Medical

Turning Auxiliary power units Vacuum pumps X-rays

Milling Blowers Robotics Dental drills

Grinding Actuators Textile equipments CAT scanners

Machining centers Gyros Food processing Medical centrifuges

Ball screw support Air handling Maglev trains Heart pumps

 22

Conclusions:

Limitations in Active Magnetic Bearings arise from two reasons: the state of the actual
technology in design and material, and from basic physical relations.
The various issues are summarized subsequently:
- the maximal load depends on design
- the specific load depends on the available ferromagnetic material and its saturation
properties, and is therefore limited to 32 to 60 N/cm2
- the frequency and the amplitude of disturbances acting on the rotor, such as unbalance
forces, that can be adequately controlled, depend on the design of the power amplifier
(power and bandwidth)
- the maximally achieved rotation speed is about 300 kHz in physical experiments. For
industrial applications values of about 6 kHz have been realized
- circumferential speeds, causing centrifugal loads, are limited by the strength of material.
Values of about 250 to 300 m/s have been realized with actual design
- supercritical speed means that one or more critical speeds can be passed by the elastic
rotor. It appears to be difficult to pass more than two or three
- the size of the bearing depends on design and manufacturability. There are large
bearings with dimensions and loads in meters and tons. The smallest bearings actually
built have dimensions in the range of mm, with a thickness being as small as 150 μm
- high temperature bearings have been realized, running in experiments at an operating
temperature of 600oC (1100oF). For ferromagnetic material the Curie temperature would
be a physical limit
- the losses of magnetic bearings at operating speed are much smaller than that of
classical bearings. Eddy current losses will limit the rotation frequency of massive rotors
(heating up, driving power), the air drag will be crucial at high circumferential speeds
(driving power)
- a high precision of the position of the rotor axis (in the range of mm) requires high
resolution sensors and adequate signal processing to separate disturbance signals from the
desired ones
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[3].[PHG2000], Magnetic Bearing Controls for a High Speed, High Power

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