Design methodology for monolithic layer radial passive magnetic bearing

Abstract

Passive magnetic bearings (PMBs) are considered to be one of the economical and effective methods for levitating two surfaces in relative motion. This obviates the use of lubrication, provides zero wear, and negligible friction, thereby making the operation maintenance free. Due to these advantages, the modeling and design of the PMBs were given substantial importance in many studies. However, a well-defined designing procedure to achieve desired load carrying capacity for the given space constraints for the intended PMB application is yet to be established. Prior studies were performed on PMBs for achieving maximum load carrying capacity, but no design methodology was proposed that could facilitate easier design of a PMB in lesser computational time. In the present work, a very effective and a straightforward method is proposed to design a PMB for its paramount output. For this, dimensions of PMBs from the literature are considered for analysis and a set of equations are proposed for the determination of mean radius, axial length, and clearance for a given inner and outer radii of single layer PMBs. Finally, an equation is provided for estimating the load carrying capacity for the determined dimensions of PMB from the proposed design procedure. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by considering the dimensions of PMBs from 10 literature. © IMechE 2018.