AMB Construction Optimization Tool

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a new interdisciplinary methodology and software tools realized and configured for the analysis and optimization of the heteropolar radial Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) construction. Due to several possible AMB configurations for the particular application, the designer needs to be supported by modelling and simulation tools at the decision stage. The designed software model of AMB accelerates the prototype design and minimizes its initial costs. In this paper the proposed solution and software environment are discussed together with its advantages and disadvantages. The analytical calculations of the AMB stator geometry are used as a starting point for the optimization procedure. The geometry constraints along with the AMB operational parameters are formulated. The AMB stator is characterized by many dimensions defining the magnetic field path, which are the pole width, the pole height, the stator radiuses: the external, internal and the rotor side. The coils are represented by closed shapes located at the pole sides. In the coil area a current density is defined and used in the optimization process. The AMB performance and parameters strongly depend on the air gap size which could be selected manually or fitted automatically due to the rotor size and weight. The electromagnetic force generated by the proposed stator geometry depends on the rotor-bearing air gap. For the proposed parametric description of the AMB geometry the choice of optimization strategy is studied to satisfy the selected quality criterion. To simplify calculations a quarter of the AMB construction is under consideration. The designed construction variants and examples of optimization are presented.