Dynamics of a flexible rotor in magnetic bearings

Discussed is a magnetic bearing which was designed and tested in a flexible rotor both as support bearings and as a vibration controller. The design of the bearing is described and the effect of control circuit bandwidth determined. Both stiffness and damping coefficients were measured and calculated for the bearing with good agreement. The bearings were then placed in a single mass rotor as support bearings and the machine run through two critical speeds. Measurements were made of the vibration response in plain bushings and magnetic bearings. Comparisons were also made of the theoretical calculations with the measured peak unbalance response speeds. Finally, runs were made with the magnetic bearing used as a vibration controller.