IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL.MAG-17, NO.

6, NOVEMBER 1981 2991

A NEW TYPE OF PERMANENT MAGNET COUPLING

Jean-Paul YONNET

Abstract - Up t o now, two typesofpermanent magnet I1 - The d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of magnetic couplings

torquecouplinghavebeenused. The existence of a
t h i r d t y p e a r i s e s from t h e t h e o r e t i c a l s t u d y . T h i s S t u d y i n g t h e i n t e r a c t i o n between small permanent
new coupling does not exercise any significant force magnets l e d t o a l l t h e b a s i c c o n f i g u r a t i o n s o f magne-
or instability in the radial o r a x i a l d i r e c t i o n . It t i c couplings [ 3 1. If we suppose t h a t t h e magnets a r e
has i t s p a r t i c u l a r domains of a p p l i c a t i o n s . only axially or radially magnetized, six different
t y p e sa r i s e( f i g u r e 2).
I - Introduction

The a t t r a c t i o n and r e p u l s i o n f o r c e s betweenper-

manent magnets can be used t o r e a l i z e synchronous
couplings. Both coupling halves are fitted with a
multipolearrangement. By m a g n e t i c i n t e r a c t i o n , t h e
two halves move a t t h e same. speed. The t r a n s m i t t e d
torque i s independentoftherotationspeed. 81 I 02 I
Two t y p e s of synchronous couplings are well-known:
thecoaxialtype, and t h e f a c e t y p e ( f i g u r e 1 ) [l ,2 ] .
coupling
Coaxial
coupling
type
Face

I I
[q*lfl ( t
It
I] t
I I] t
i I

Figure 2 - The s i x d i f f e r e n t t y p e s Of magnetic

coupling, realized with magnets of a x i a l
o r radial magnetization

Without s o f t i r o n y o k e s , t h e a1 and a2 t y p e s a r e i d e n -
t i c a l as t o t h e i r s t i f f n e s s a n d t h e i r u s e f u l t o r q u e .
T h i s result has already been demonstrated for magnetic
bearings [ 4 1. HornreichandShtrilrmanhavepublished
a new demonstration of t h i s i d e n t i t y by using the
Brown Morrishtheorem [ 5 1. I n t h e same way, 61 and
82, y l and y2 have r e s p e c t i v e l y t h e same performance.

The CI t y p e g i v e s t h e c o a x i a l c o u p l i n g , a n d t h e
Figure 1 Two typesofpermanent magnet coupling. f a c e type coupling i s obtained by t h e y t y p e . The p
t y p e u t i l i z e s a x i a l l y and radially magnetized magnets
- I n a coaxialcoupling,thepolesarearranged at t h e same time and the magnetizations are perpen-
on t h e i n n e r s u r f a c e o f t h e o u t e r r i n g , a n d
o u t e rs u r f a c eo ft h ei n n e rr i n g .
on t h e
The r a d i a l i n s t a b i l i t y
dicularly coupled [ 6 1.
i s very important.

- I n a face type coupling the equal-size rings

carry alternately north and south poles.

small magnets, the existence of

neticcouplinghasbeenfound
notcreateanysignificantaxial
An important
attraction force is created in the axial direction.

By s t u d y i n g t h e m a g n e t i c i n t e r a c t i o n

[3 ].
between two
a t h i r d t y p e o f mag-
This new type does
or r a d i a l s t i f f n e s s .
Figure 3
Driver

-
[ a
Forces and torque exercised by a
In t h i s paper, only the forces exercised in the permanent magnet coupling.
a x i a l and r a d i a l d i r e c t i o n s a r e s t u d i e d . A s f o r magne- a. Forces. We s h a l l c a l l Fz t h e a x i a l f o r c e , and
tic bearings, stiffness calculation allows to obtain Fr t h e radial one exercised between the two halves of
t h e a x i a l and r a d i a l b e h a v i o u r : s t a b i l i t y o r i n s t a b i -
t h ec o u p l i n g( f i g u r e 3 ) . Fr d o e sn o te x i s ti nt h e
l i t y . The p a r t i c u l a r p r o p e r t i e s of t h e new type of m a g -
c e n t e r e d p o s i t i o n . The t o r q u e r' dependson t h e a n g l e
n e t i c c o u p l i n g a r e shown and v e r i f i e d byanexperimen- 8 between t h e h a l v e s .
tal study. A l l t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s a r e compared.
The a x i a l f o r c e e x e r c i s e d by t h e 6 and y types
i s important. But t h i s f o r c e , a l w a y s i n a t t r a c t i o n ,
Manuscript received on March 23rd, 1981. c a n b e n u l l i f i e d by a symmetrical construction. If we
Jean-Paul YONNET i s w i t h t h e L a b o r a t o i r e . d ' E l e c t r o - t a k e t h e 8 t y p e for example, t h e two configurations of
technique (E.R.A. 534 CNRS), E.N.S.I.E.G., figure 4 are obtained. This variant w i l l be called
B.P. 46, 38402SAINT-MARTIN D'HERES, France. 8' t y p e .
0018-9464/81/1100-2991~$00.750 1981 IEEE
2992

I 0'2 I Equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) areconsequences of

Earnshaw'stheorem. It i s important t o n o t i c e t h a t
theyproviderelationsaboutthestiffnessesfor
translational displacement only. This theorem makes
no statementconcerningthetorque r.
I11 - Study of a B'typemagneticcoupling.
Figure 4- Symmetrical construction of t h e B t y p e To v e r i f y t h e announced comportmentof t h e 6 type
( c a l l e d 8' t y p e ) . couplings, a prototype has been built. The dimensions
Generally, the axial force can be nullified only havebeenchosen so as t o o b t a i n v e r y small a x i a l and
f o r a g i v e n r e l a t i v e p o s i t i o n of t h e two halves. Around r a d i a l f o r c e s i n a l a r g e a r e a around t h e c e n t e r e d
t h i sp o s i t i o n ,s m a l ld i s p l a c e m e n t sc r e a t eh i g hf o r c e s position.
when t h e s t i f f n e s s e s a r e i m p o r t a n t .

b. S t i f f n e s s e s . We c a nd e f i n et h es t i f f n e s s
a g a i n s t anydisplacement r or z by :

Without s o f t i r o n yokes t h e r e l a t i o n between t h e s e

two s t i f f n e s s e s i s 3 : j
2 K r + K, = 0 (1)
For t h e a t y p e ( c o a x i a l c o u p l i n g ) , we have Figu - B' typecoupling.
Kz > 0 and K r c 0. It i s s t a b l ea l o n gt h e z direc-
tionbuttheradialinstability i s important. The in- a. Experimentalstudy.Figure 5 shows t h e 8-po1e
verseresultsareobtainedfor a face type coupling : couplingwhichhasbeenrealized. The magnet s e c t i o n
Kz < 0 and Kr > 0. dimensions a r e 9 mm x 9 mm, and t h e r a d i a l g a p is 2 , 5
am wide. The exterior diameter of t h e i n n e r r i n g is
The i n t e n s i t y of t h e s e s t i f f n e s s e s i s v e r y impor- 118 mm. The two r i n g s o f t h e o u t e r p a r t a r e s e p a r a t e d by
t a n t . It i s a b o u t t h e same as t h e oneproducedby a 13 mm.The magnets a r e made withrubber-bonded f e r r i t e
magneticbearingof same dimensions and constructed with (B, = 0,22 T ) .
t h e same magnetic material.
For t k i s c o u p l i n g , t h e maximum transmitted torque
A-s f o r t h e B t y p e , it doesnotproduceany stiff- i s 0,26 Nm when 8 = 22,5 G. The main i n t e r e s t c o n c e r n s
ness [ 3 ] ; it means K r = KZ = 0. The two h a l v e s a r e i t s comportment f o r t r a n s l a t i o n a l d i s p l a c e m e n t s . We
i ni n d i f f e r e n te q u i l i b r i u m .P r a c t i c a l l y , for small d i s - shall study experimentally the axial and r a d i a l f o r c e s
placements around the centered position, the forces Fr r e s u l t i n g winen one of t h e two halves i s d i s p l a c e d from
and F, a r e v e r y s m a l l . the centered position.
Table I sums up t h e d i f f e r e n t p r o p e r t i e s of a l l Axial f o r c e
these types of coupling.

c .U t i l i z a t i o n of s o f ti r o ny o k e s . When i r o n
yokes a r e u s e d t o p r o v i d e f l u x c l o s u r e t h e r e l a t i o n
between t h e s t i f f n e s s e s becomes :
2 E,
;+ Kz < 0 . (2)
In t h i s c a s e , K r and KZ may besimUltaneouSlYnegative.
The i d e n t i t y between t h e a1 and a2 types i s not con-
served. The r a d i a l u n s t a b l e s t i f f n e s s K r becomes n o r e
important, and I(,
i s almost unaltered for t h e a2 t y p e
coupling ; b u t t h e most important effect of t h e yokes
i s to increase the torque r.
Forthe 6 t y p e s , t h e u t i l i z a t i o n of yokesdoes
notconservetheindifferentequilibrium, and small
instabilitiesappear.Iftheequilibrium i s of f i r s t
importance,thetype must beusedwithoutsoftiron

type
I
1 less
1 important
1; equilibrim
IndiEferent
/Indifferent
!equilibrium
11
1 - I I
! Axieldisplacement
I InCifEerent ;Indifferent 1
fi'type 1 %11 1 equilibrim
;equilibrium 1 1 - r = 0 e = 00
1 1 I

Table I - P r o p e r t i e s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s
2 - r = 0.15 Nm e = '9
of perma- 3 - r = 0.24 Nm 0 = 17'
nent magnet coupling.
The a and 8' type need a c y l i n d r i c a l Figure 6 - Axial comportment of t h e 6' type coupling
p a r t i t i o n w a l l . -4 planeone i s necessary versustransmittedtorque,forthree
f o r t h e y type. torqde angles.
 2993

Figure 6 shows t h a t i n s i d e a 4 mm l o n g a r e a , t h e magnetization of SmC05 a l l o w s t h e r e a l i z a t i o n o f

axialforceFzdoesnotreach 0 , l N , and t h e a x i a l couplings without any risk of demagnetization, but this
s t i f f n e s s Kz i s lower than 0,06 N/m. magnet i s v e r y e x p e n s i v e . T h e r e f o r e , u t i l i z i n g a conven-
For a radial displacement of l e s s t h a n 1 m m, we t i o n a l t y p e c o u p l i n g i s p r e f e r a b l e as long as t h e
obtain : Fr < O , O 7 N particular properties of the B type are not necessary.
Kr 0,12 N / m (figure 7).
But t h i s new type of magnetic coupling becomes
Incomparison, t h e r a d i a l i n s t a b i l i t y o f a c o a x i a l v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g when e i t h e r t h e f o r c e s between t h e
coupling with the same gap and the same section magnets two halves or t h e s t i f f n e s s e s have t o be very small.
i s about2,s N/mm. Thus, f o r a r a d i a 1 , d i s p l a c e m e n t of The type i s not a r i v a l of t h eo t h e r s ; it has i t s
1 m m, t h e r a d i a l f o r c e i s Fr = 2,5 N which i s much own p a r t i c u l a r domain of a p p l i c a t i o n .
g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t of t h e B'type (0,07 N ) .
b. Applications.Conventionaltypesofcoupling
Radial force
createeitheranimportantradialinstability (a t y p e )
or a n i m p o r t a n t a x i a l one (y t y p e ) , which must be
c o n t r o l l e d by a v e r y h i g h s t i f f n e s s o f t h e b e a r i n g s .
But when t h e 3f typecoupling i s used, i t s v e r y small
i n s t a b i l i t y i s perfectly compatible with "soft"
bearings, like magnetic bearings. This new type of
coupling i s adaptedformagneticsuspensionsystems.

For small displacementsaroundthecentered

p o s i t i o n t h e new coupling does not exercise any axial
or r a d i a l f o r c e . I f one of t h e two halves i s v i b r a t i n g ,
it does not produce any effect on t h e o t h e r p a r t . The
coupling i s a p e r f e c t i n s u l a t o r of v i b r a t i o n s .

It i s a l s o a f l e x i b l e c o u p l i n g . It can e a s i l y
transmit motion between two non-aligned shafts,
( p a r a l l e l or w i t h a small a n g l e ) . The r e l a t i v e
displacements between the driver and the driven part
do n o t c r e a t e i m p o r t a n t f q r c e s .

I 05 0 05 1 r (mm) Using a 6 type coupling gives very small f o r c e s ,

and t h i s l e a d s t o a r e d u c t i o n i n t h e c o s t of t h e b e a r -
Radialdisplacement i n g s . The onesused i n a n a u t o c l a v e , f o r example, a r e
I - r = o e = oo very expensive. The absence of force allows them t o be
2 - r = 0.15 Nm 0 = '9 s i m p l i f i e d , or t o bereduced i n number.
3 - r = 0.24 ~m e = 170
V - Conclusion.
Figure 7 - Radial behaviour.
This new type of magnetic coupling does not com-
We c a n n o t e t h a t a l l t h e s e p r o p e r t i e s improve pete with standard permanentmagnetsones(facetype
when the coupling i s running. When t h e a n g l e 9 between o r coaxialcoupling)because i t s realizationneeds a
thecouplinghalvesincreases, a l l t h e a x i a l and r a d i a l g r e a t e r q u a n t i t y of permanent magnet m a t e r i a l t h a n
forcesdecrease,thenthestiffnessesarereduced. t h e o t h e r s . But t h i s new c o u p l i n g h a s v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g
p r o p e r t i e s : t h e a x i a l and r a d i a l f o r c e s between t h e
A l l theseexperimentalresultsagreeperfectly two h a l v e s a n d t h e a x i a l a n d r a d i a l s t i f f n e s s e s a r e
with the theoretical ones. The f o r c e s a n d t h e very small. I n d i f f e r e n t e q u i l i b r i u m between t h e two
s t i f f n e s s e s e x e r c i s e d between t h e two halves of t h e parts can be reached.
B'couplingarevery small. T h i sc a nb ep a r t i c u l a r l y
u s e f u l when t h e l o a d f o r c e s on t h e b e a r i n g s have t o This new t y p e of coupling i s well adapted for
be minimized. p a r t i c u l a ra p p l i c a t i o n s : f l e x i b l ec o u p l i n g ,i n s u l a t o r
of vibrations, magnetic bearings devices, ...
b.Indifferentequilibrium.Fortheprototype,
the section dimensions have been chosen in order to REFERENCES
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~
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