Design and Optimization Method of Magnetic Bearing for High-Speed Motor Considering Eddy Current Effects

With the development of the magnetic bearing (MB) and its application in industry, the demands of high-speed MB are developing, which bring up new problems and requirement for the design. The motor with a high-speed rigid rotor requires that the axial length of MB is minimized to increase the critical speed, and the diameter of thrust disk is minimized to reduce the air friction loss. Also because of the high speed, the eddy currents induced in the iron cores have a significant influence on the dynamic characteristics of the MB. To design a high-performance MB for a high-speed motor, first an MB structure that has the feature of short axial length and small thrust disk is recommended for the high-speed motor. Next, the dynamic model, which takes into consideration eddy current effects, and leakage effects is developed. Then, an optimal design method with multiobjective of minimum length and air friction loss is presented. Design constraints are imposed, which includes the simultaneous consideration of material properties, load capacity, and power amplifier. Finally, a design example is given and a prototype is manufactured. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed MB structure and the optimization method are feasible and valid in the application of a high-speed motor.