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A hybrid (permanent magnet and foil) bearing set for complete passive levitation of high-speed rotors

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Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science

Published online on

Abstract

This paper presents the design and development of a hybrid bearing set for complete passive levitation of a typical rotor. A hybrid bearing set consists of permanent magnet thrust bearing and radial discrete bump foil bearings. The permanent magnet thrust bearing is made up of three pairs of ring magnets arranged in rotation magnetized direction. The mathematical model to determine the force and stiffness in rotation magnetized direction configuration is presented using Coulombian model and vector approach. Bump foil bearings are designed and developed for rotor weight to provide the radial support to the rotor system. The proposed bearing set with rotor is analysed using finite element analysis for rotor dynamic characteristics. The experiments are conducted on the fabricated rotor-bearing configuration by rotating the rotor up to the speeds of 40,000 r/min. The system response is acquired using advanced rotor-dynamic data acquisition system. The experimental results show that the rotor is completely airborne and stable at the desired speed.