Original manuscript, Proceedings of 20th International Workshop on RARE EARTH PERMANENT MAGNETS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS, Sept.

8-10, 2008, Crete, Greece _____________________________________________________________________________________________

High Temperature Hybrid Radial Magnetic Bearing Systems Capable of Operating up to 538C (1000F)
Jinfang Liua, Heeju Choia*, Alan Palazzolob, Randall Tuckerb, Andrew Kennyb, Kyung-Dae Kangb, Varun Ghandib, and Andrew Provenzac
b

Electron Energy Corporation, 924 Links Avenue, Landisville, PA 17538, USA Texas A&M University, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, College Station, TX 77843, USA c NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH 44135, USA * Contact author, phone 1-717-898-2294, fax 1-717-898-0660, hchoi@electronenergy.com

Abstract A novel high temperature hybrid radial magnetic bearing capable of operating at 538C (1000F) was developed. High temperature permanent magnets are used to carry the majority of the static rotor weight, instead of a magnetic bearing coil or electromagnets, in the newly designed hybrid magnetic bearing system with a maximum operating temperature of 538C. A novel feature of this high temperature magnetic bearing is its homopolar construction which incorporates state of the art high temperature permanent magnets developed at Electron Energy Corporation (EEC). A second feature is its fault tolerance capability which provides the desired control forces with over one-half of the coils failed. Keywords: high temperature permanent magnets, electromagnets, hybrid magnetic bearing, homopolar

1. Introduction Magnetic bearing technology is considered to be an enabling technology for new advanced engine designs. Rolling element bearings and squeeze dampers are currently used to support gas turbine engine rotors. These types of bearings are limited in temperature (<260oC) and speed. They require both air cooling and a lubrication system. Rolling element bearings in gas turbines are being pushed to their limits and new bearing technologies are critical for various industries. Innovative technologies, including high temperature magnetic bearing technology, are necessary for the design and development of advanced space vehicles. NASA Lewis Research Center and the U.S. Army have been working on high temperature magnetic bearings with industry participation. Recent research has focused on applications in high temperature environment [1]. Magnetic bearings are well suited to operate at elevated temperatures, higher rotational speeds and extreme altitudes. This is a promising solution to current limitations [2] [3]. The elimination of the lubrication systems is also a great benefit [4]. It is also possible to adapt the stiffness and the damping of the bearing to absorb any vibration that might occur [5]. In addition to supporting loads, magnetic bearings directly measure bearing reaction forces. In order to obtain these loads one needs to know the force as a function of current, air gap, operating frequency, and alignment [6]. A permanent magnet biased magnetic bearing that has coplanar geometry is usually known as a homopolar design [7].

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Original manuscript, Proceedings of 20th International Workshop on RARE EARTH PERMANENT MAGNETS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS, Sept. 8-10, 2008, Crete, Greece _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Experimental data shows significant reduction in power consumption is possible for permanent magnet biased homopolar bearings [8]. Lee, Hsio, and Ko [9] provided analysis and advanced circuit models to predict the flux paths and other parameters for bearings using permanent magnets. A comparison between the predicted and measured force and stiffness characteristics of the bearing were performed by Imlach, Blair, and Allaire [10]. A study of hysteresis effects was published by Fittro, Baun, Maslen, and Allaire [11]. The purpose of this research is to design and build a high-temperature magnetic bearing system using high temperature permanent magnets. The permanent magnet bias of the radial magnetic bearing reduces the amount of current required for magnetic bearing operation. This reduces the power loss due to the coil current resistance and increases the system efficiency because high temperature permanent magnets are used to carry the majority of the static load on the bearing. The bearing was designed to produce 500 lb (2225 N) of force at 538C. The bias flux of the homopolar radial bearing is produced by high temperature magnets. 2. High Temperature Permanent Magnets Three generations of rare earth (RE) magnets, SmCo5, RE2TM17 and Nd2Fe14B type magnets, were discovered in late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Both SmCo5 and RE2TM17 type magnets have good corrosion resistance and high temperature stability, which led to many critical applications such as motors, generators, inertial devices, traveling wave tube amplifiers, and medical devices. Nd2Fe14B type magnets exhibit higher magnetic properties but with lower maximum operating temperature. Nd2Fe14B type magnets are widely used in many industrial applications, especially automotive applications and hard disc drives.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, research activities in permanent magnets in the United States were focused on the development of high temperature magnets capable of operating at over 400C in response to the needs described by the U.S. Air Force and other branches of U.S. DoD. Sm2TM17 type magnets usually contain Fe, Co, Cu, Zr and Sm, generally referred to as Sm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)z magnets, and have very high Curie temperature (about 870oC), moderately high saturation magnetization (about 13 kG), and high magnetocrystalline anisotropy (85 kOe). It is certainly a good candidate for high temperature applications. Studies suggested that the maximum application temperature of Sm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)z magnets is related to the Co/Fe ratio in the chemical composition. Table 1. Comparison of magnetic properties of rare earth permanent magnets

B/0H

Figure 1. Typical demagnetization curves of T550 magnet at different temperatures Funded by the U.S. Air Force, a new series of high temperature magnets were developed

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Original manuscript, Proceedings of 20th International Workshop on RARE EARTH PERMANENT MAGNETS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS, Sept. 8-10, 2008, Crete, Greece _____________________________________________________________________________________________

with maximum application temperatures up to 550oC, which opened up more design options to us. Some recently developed and patented high temperature magnets, i.e. T550 grades, (U.S. Patent number: 06,451,132) have a straight-line normal demagnetization curve up to 550oC, which makes it possible for the design of high temperature magnetic bearings using permanent magnets. Table 1 is a summary of magnetic properties of rare earth permanent magnets including the newly patented high temperature Sm-Co magnets. The typical demagnetization curves of T550 high temperature magnets are shown in Figure 1. 3. Electromechanical Design of High Temperature Hybrid Magnetic Bearings The analytical and/or theoretical modeling details are not included here to limit the length of this paper. The hybrid magnetic bearing consists of electromagnets and permanent magnets as shown in Figure 2. The stator has two planes with permanent magnets. The magnets on one plane of the stator are oriented towards the rotor. The flux returns through the rotor to the other plane of stator-magnets, which is reversely polarized. The control is provided by the electromagnet. It can add to the bias flux on one side of the rotor and subtract from the bias flux on the other side. Thus a controllable net force on the rotor is produced in the magnetic bearing.

The combined magnetic circuit of the hybrid magnetic bearing is designed via iterative 3D finite element based electromagnetic field simulation. Figure 3 is the finite element analysis (FEA) solid model. The lamination stacks are made of Hiperco 50. Permanent magnets are T550 grade Sm-Co that can operate up to 550C.

Figure 3. FEA solid model

Figure 4. FEA results of bias and control flux Figure 4 shows the flux density with both the permanent magnet flux and a 15A coil current applied. The FEA calculation of the load capacity with 15A current is 656 lb (2978 N) at 538C in the direction halfway between two coils separated by sixty degrees. The bias

Figure 2. Bias and control flux configuration of hybrid magnetic bearing

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Original manuscript, Proceedings of 20th International Workshop on RARE EARTH PERMANENT MAGNETS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS, Sept. 8-10, 2008, Crete, Greece _____________________________________________________________________________________________

flux density in the air gap is 0.53 Tesla at 538C. The total weight is 46.8lb (213N) including the stator laminates, magnets, backiron, and rotor laminates. The FEA model of the bearing confirmed the weight without the coils to be 42.4 lb (193N). Table 2. Hybrid magnetic bearing dimensions Bearing OD Bearing Length Bearing Weight Air Gap Flux Rotor Laminate ID Rotor Laminate OD Stator Laminate ID Stator Laminate OD Stator Thickness Magnet ID Magnet OD Magnet Thickness Number Turns/Coil Inductance/Coil Wire Diameter with insulation 23.75 cm 8.18 cm 213 N .53 Tesla 3.81 cm 8.13 cm 8.23 cm 17.51 cm 2.9 cm 17.51 cm 21.17 cm 2.9 cm 36 .00206 H 0.16 cm

4. Prototype and Testing The high temperature magnets made by EEC serve as a source of magnetic flux for bias. Each magnet pole consists of 5 small segments, which are cemented together with high temperature cement to obtain the arc shape as shown in Figure 6. Figure 7 shows the benchtop test rig for the hybrid radial magnetic bearing prototype. Four load cells are utilized to measure the radial bearing force. A cooling base plate is employed to provide a heat sink to maintain acceptable temperatures for the load cells. The yoke is used to transmit the bearing load equally to the load cells. The ring supporting plates (shown in Figure 5) provide support for the bearings and serve as a load transmission path from bearings to the load cells. The band heaters (shown in Figure 5) are used to heat the bearing up to 538C. The insulation plates are used to provide a thermal barrier to efficiently heat the system.

The final dimensions of this radial bearing are shown in Table 2. Figure 5 shows the exploded view of the high temperature magnetic bearing test assembly.

Figure 6. High temperature magnet arc assembly

Figure 5. Exploded view of the high temperature magnetic bearing test assembly

Figure 7. The Experimental Test Setup

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Original manuscript, Proceedings of 20th International Workshop on RARE EARTH PERMANENT MAGNETS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS, Sept. 8-10, 2008, Crete, Greece _____________________________________________________________________________________________

The experiment on the test rig was carried out at room temperature and at higher temperatures. For comparison, the measured room temperature force is shown in Figure 8. The analytical result at 10A is 7% higher than the actual data. At 538C, the numerical FEA predicted a load capacity of 602 lbs (2733 N), a position stiffness of 66 lbs/mil (12,000 N/mm) and a current stiffness of 40 lbs/A (182 N/A). The maximum force output is measured to be 629 lbs (2799 N) at a temperature of 493C and a current of 13.3A, which is 86% of the force at room temperature. The maximum position-related force is measured to be 499 lbs (2220N) at 493C at 0.38mm rotor offset, which yields approximately a position stiffness of 5,800 kN/mm. This represents 44% of room temperature displacement stiffness. Test temperatures of the permanent magnets, the shaft, and the ceramic layer covering the poles are measured as 920 F (493C), 660 F (350C), and 690 F (366C), respectively.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was sponsored by the NASA Glen Research Center under the Grant NNC06CA04C. REFERENCES 1. Mohiuddin, M., Masters Thesis, Texas A&M University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2002. 2. Hossain, M., Masters Thesis, Texas A&M University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2006. 3. Provenza, A., Montague, G., Jansen, M., Palazzolo, A., Jansen, R., 2005, Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, 127, pp.437-444. 4. Bornstein, K. R., 1990, Journal of Tribology, 90-Trib-50. 5. Schweitzer, G., Bleuler, H., Traxler, A., 1994, Active Magnetic Bearings, 210, pp. 1112. 6. DeWeese, R.T., 1996, M.S. Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station. 7. Meeks, C. R., DiRusso, E., and Brown, G. V., 1990, Proceedings of the 26th Joint Propulsion Conference AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE, Orlando. 8. Sortore, C. K., Allaire, P. E., Maslen, E. H., Humphris, R. R., and Studer, P. A., 1990, Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Magnetic Bearings, Tokyo, pp. 175182. 9. Lee, A., Hsio, F., and Ko, D., 1994, JSME Int. J., Ser. C, 37, pp. 774-782. 10. Imlach, J., Blair, B. J., and Allaire, P. E., 1990, Joint ASME/STLE Tribology Conference, Toronto, 90-Trib-70. 56 11. Fittro, R. L., Baun, D. O., Maslen, E. H., and Allaire, P. E., 1997, Proceedings of the 1997 International Gas Turbine & Aeroengine Congress & Exposition, Orlando, 97-GT-18.

Figure 8. Force vs. Current at room temperature 5. Summary The hybrid radial magnetic bearing using T550 permanent magnets are designed and fabricated for high temperature testing. Some key bearing characteristics such as position stiffness, current stiffness, and maximum load are determined through bench testing.

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