Magnetic Suspension for Dynamic Spin Rig

NASA Lewis Research Center's Dynamic Spin Rig, located in Building 5, Test Cell CW-18, is used to test turbomachinery blades and components by rotating them in a vacuum chamber. A team from Lewis' Machine Dynamics Branch successfully integrated a magnetic bearing and control system into the Dynamic Spin Rig. The magnetic bearing worked very well both to support and shake the shaft. It was demonstrated that the magnetic bearing can transmit more vibrational energy into the shaft and excite some blade modes to larger amplitudes than the existing electromagnetic shakers can.