Fault detection and tolerance in synchronous vibration control of rotor—magnetic bearing systems

Abstract The use of magnetic bearings in rotating machinery provides contact-free rotor support, and allows vibration control using both closed-loop and open-loop strategies. One of the simplest and most effective methods to reduce synchronous lateral vibration when using magnetic bearings is through an open-loop adaptive control technique, in which the amplitude and phase of synchronous magnetic control forces are adjusted automatically to minimize the measured vibrations along the rotor. However, transducer malfunction, or faults in the signal-processing channels, may cause the controller to adapt incorrectly, with unwanted and possibly catastrophic effects. It is shown that an extension to the control strategy, which utilizes the variances of the measured system response and identified parameters, enables the faults to be detected and accounted for so that a modified control action can achieve continued and effective control of the synchronous vibration. The approach is extended further to identify changes in external factors, such as unbalance and rotor dynamics. Various faults and perturbations are examined experimentally, and the ability of the controller to detect and compensate for these changes is demonstrated.