International Conference on Magnetics, Machines & Drives (AICERA-2014 iCMMD)

ACTIVE MAGNETIC BEARINGS FOR

SODIUM PUMP
R. Nirmalkumar, B.K. Sreedhar, G. Padmakumar and K.K Rajan
Fast Reactor Technology Group
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
Kalpakkam, India

Abstract — Centrifugal Pumps are used in the primary and
secondary heat transport systems of fast reactors for pumping
liquid sodium. Lubrication oil leakage from the conventional
bearings used in these pumps is a potential threat to cause
reactivity changes which could result in extended reactor shut
down. Actively controlled magnetic bearings which do not
require lubrication is an excellent alternative to conventional
bearings in overcoming these problems. The present work deals
with the development of “Thrust and Radial Active” magnetic
bearings for a small centrifugal sodium pump of 50 m3/h
capacity, which controls both the axial and radial movements of
rotor. The developed active magnetic bearing takes a thrust load
of around 100kg, and a nominal radial load for the existing
vertically- configured shaft system of the centrifugal
pump. Performance of the active magnetic bearings has been
tested successfully by running the pump up to the full operating
speed of 2900 rpm and the measured vibration levels were well
within the allowable limits of ISO 14839.
Keywords—magnetic Bearing
I. INTRODUCTION
In Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), vertical
centrifugal sodium pumps are used for the circulation of
coolant sodium in the primary and secondary heat transport
circuits. The pumps are supported by hydrostatic bearings
within sodium and by Kingsbury type thrust bearing and a
radial sleeve bearing above the cover gas space. The bearings
above the cover gas space are cooled by means of dedicated
oil circuits [1]. Although engineered safety features and
operational procedures are in place to ensure that no oil leak
occurs under any circumstance, any leak of oil into primary
sodium will cause positive reactivity addition and can result in
extended reactor shutdown [2]. The resulting carbon deposits
can also result in blockage of parts operating with close
clearances such as pump hydrostatic bearing and can also
cause blockage of fuel sub assembly inlet. Hence it is
considered worthwhile to develop oil free bearing with the
final objective of replacing the oil lubricated bearings with
radial and axial (thrust) active magnetic bearings. A
development program therefore has been initiated towards this
goal.
At present application of magnetic bearings are found mostly
in the area of large turbomachinery. They have been used in
gas compressors and multi stage boiler feed pumps [3]. In
recent years there have been instances of use of magnetic
bearings in nuclear reactor systems. One such case is the use
of magnetic bearing technology in a 10 MW High
Temperature Gas cooled Reactor module (HTR-10) [4, 5].
Following the incident of oil ingress into sodium in the
Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR), the design of the pump in the
European Fast Reactor (EFR) was modified to include
innovative features, viz., magnetic bearing and ferrofluid seal,
with the objective of eliminating oil from the system [2].
The objective of the present work is to develop active radial
and thrust magnetic bearings to replace the existing
conventional angular contact ball bearings in the test rotor of
an existing small capacity (50m3/h) vertical, centrifugal
sodium pump. The active magnetic bearings are designed to
work on Direct output feedback control system. The
mechanical design, controller development and experimental
results have been discussed.
II. BASIC WORKING PRINCIPLE
The basic working principle of an attractive type magnetic
bearing is shown in Fig.1. In working condition when the rotor
moves from the reference position, sensor measures the
displacement of the rotor shaft at the bearing location and send
the signal to the controller. Feedback controller compares it
with the reference signal and generates a control signal, a
power amplifier transforms this control signal into control
current, which is sent to the magnetic actuator, which in turn
generates variation in the force proportional to the
displacement and velocity in such a way that the rotor is
brought back to its reference position.
Fig. 1. Working Principle of AMB

978-1-4799-5202-1/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE

 International Conference on Magnetics, Machines & Drives (AICERA-2014 iCMMD)

Fig. 2. Existing Pump assembly with the Modified Pump assembly with AMB

III. DESCRIPTION OF PUMP turn are used to generate necessary control signal for
A small vertical centrifugal sodium pump of rated capacity controlling the coil currents in the corresponding pair of
of 50 m3/h and head of 22.5m at the rated speed of 2900 rpm electromagnet.
(specific speed = 33) was selected for integration and testing
of the AMB. A free liquid level is provided in the pump tank
and the free surface is topped by argon cover gas. It has
double mechanical seal with the deep groove angular contact
bearing mounted at the top cover gas space. The mechanical
seals will prevent the leakage of cover gas. The oil is used for
cooling, lubricating the top bearings and mechanical seal. The
bottom free end of shaft with impeller is having hydro static
bearing to maintain the shaft concentricity during operation.
This pump was driven by a 22kw DC motor with the variable
speed drive system. The top bearings of the pump were
replaced by AMB. Fig. 2 shows the original pump assembly
and the modified arrangement.
IV. AMB DEVELOPMENT
The AMB system in the present application consists of (i)
Active magnetic radial bearing (ii) radial retainer/auxiliary
bearing (iii) active magnetic thrust bearing (iv) Thrust
retainer/auxiliary bearings.

A. Magnetic bearings
Fig.3. Arrangements of the Electromagnets in Thrust AMB
The thrust AMB actuator consists of 4 pairs of E-shaped
electromagnets as schematically shown in Fig.3. Each pair of
The radial AMB actuator consists of two pair of E-shaped
electromagnets consists of one magnet above the thrust disc
electromagnets with the face of the magnets machined to
that is keyed to the shaft, and the other one below the disc.
match the radial AMB rotor curved surface (radius 75 mm) as
The thrust disc is a laminated disc of ferromagnetic material shown in Fig.4. The radial AMB rotor is a laminated sleeve
that is mounted on the shaft. Four eddy current type proximity
of ferromagnetic material that is keyed to the shaft. Two eddy
sensors used to sense the thrust rotor movements, which in
 International Conference on Magnetics, Machines & Drives (AICERA-2014 iCMMD)
current type proximity sensors are placed at orthogonal
directions to sense the rotor movement and generate necessary
control signals for controlling the coils currents.Fig.5 shows
the photograph of Radial and thrust AMB assembly integrated
with the pump. There are eight electromagnets for the thrust
AMB actuator and four electromagnets for the radial AMB
actuator. Each electromagnet coil current is controlled by one
power amplifier. Analog controllers are used for the feedback
control action.
Fig.4. Schematic of the Radial AMB Actuator
Fig.5. Photograph of Radial and thrust AMBs
B. Auxiliary Bearings
Both the thrust and radial AMB’s are provided with
auxiliary bearings. The function of these bearings, which are
conventional roller bearings, is to ensure safe coast down of
the pump rotor in the event of a power failure to the magnetic
actuators. The clearance in the auxiliary bearing will be more
than the range of movement allowed by the magnetic bearings
and less than the nominal air gap between the actuator and the
rotor.. In the event of a power failure the auxiliary bearings
will provide the necessary guidance to ensure safe coastdown
of the pump thus protecting both the magnetic actuators and
the pump.
The radial auxiliary bearing consist of a conventional ball
bearing (SKF 6016 2Z) fitted with Teflon bush at inner race, is
placed at the location of angular contact ball bearing location
of the original pump shaft. A radial clearance of 0.1mm is
provided between the bush and the shaft (Fig.6) whereas the
radial clearance between the rotor and the magnetic actuator is
1mm.The thrust auxiliary bearing consists of 4 pairs of
double-decker rolling element bearings equi-spaced along the
circumference for each of the thrust stator disks.
Fig. 6. Auxiliary radial bearing with the radial clearance of 0.1mm
C. Sequence of Operation
The pump rotor will be resting on the auxiliary bearings at
the initial stage. Before starting the pump, the magnetic
bearings will be activated causing the rotor to levitate and lift
off the auxiliary bearing surface. The pump is started after
ensuring that there is no contact between the stator and the
rotor in the AMB as well as in the auxiliary bearings. The
movement of the rotor from a reference position is monitored
using the eddy current sensors and the error signal generated
varies the control current and ensures that no contact occurs
between the rotor and the stator.
D. Sensor
Proximity probes are used as gap sensors in both the radial
and thrust AMB. This type of gap measuring transducer uses a
non-contact measurement technique based on eddy current
effect. The proximity probe provides a signal that is directly
proportional to the gap between the object and proximity
probe. The linear measurement range is from zero to 2 mm of
gap.
 International Conference on Magnetics, Machines & Drives (AICERA-2014 iCMMD)
(PD / PID)
Fig.7. Control Loop for the Magnetic Bearing
E. Controller
In the present active magnetic bearings, electromagnets
are used as actuators that work on the principle of attraction.
Feedback controller is required for this type of AMBs
achieve stability, since the force exerted by the actuator is
always attractive in nature. Feedback control based on
proportional, integral and derivative of the gap voltage has
been adopted in this work (fig.7). Feedback gains are
selected based on the rotor dynamic requirements of the test
setup. The control signals generated by the controller are fed
to power amplifiers for necessary control action. The force
equilibrium equation in the magnetic bearing, considering
the rotor as a lumped mass, can be written as [6],
M&x& = − K s x + K i i
Where, M is the rotor mass, Ks is the position stiffness, Ki is
the current stiffness and ‘i’ is the control current. The
control current can be written in terms of measured
displacement error ‘x’, proportional (Gp) and the derivative
(Gd) feedback gain as,
i = G p x + G d x&
The position and current stiffness can be expressed in
terms of the actuator parameters as,
2
2 µ o Aφ N 2 I b µ o Aφ N 2 I b
Ks = 3
, Ki = 2
Lg Lg
Where,
µ o is the permeability of the air (4x 10-7 H/m)
A φ is cross sectional area of flux path (4000 mm2),
N is the number of turns in the coil (150),
Lg is nominal air gap between the rotor and the
electromagnet (0.75 mm),
Ib is the bias current.
The bias current is required to balance the static load on the
bearing. It may be observed from equation (2) & (3) that the
bearing stiffness and damping is controlled by the
proportional and derivative feedback gains. Suitable values
of feedback gains one can achieve desired stiffness and
damping values for the AMB.
V. TESTING OF AMB
A. Requirements
The standard used to evaluate the performance of
machinery equipped with active magnetic bearings is IS
14839 [7]. According to this standard maximum amplitude
of deviation (Dmax) of rotor from the reference position
should be less than the radial or axial clearance (Cmin)
between the rotor and the auxiliary bearings to avoid contact
between the rotor and stator at auxiliary bearing location.
The clearance (Cmin) provided for thrust bearing and radial
bearings at auxiliary bearing location in this test setup are
500 µm (axial) and 100 µ m (radial) respectively. Testing of
AMB was carried out to check conformance with this
(1). condition in both axial and radial directions.
B. Test Results
Performance of the AMBs have been tested by operating
the pump in a water loop at various speeds between 20% to
100% of the rated speed (2900 rpm). The movement of the
rotor in axial and radial diections during operation was
(2). measured by eddy current probes. As mentioned earlier,
there are four eddy probes placed close to the thrust AMB
disk in axial direction with circumferentially 900spacing
and two eddy probes in radial direction close to the radial
AMB at orthogonal position (Fig.8).
(3). C. Measured Signals and Tuning
The rotor vibration signals (displacements) during
operation of the rotor from zero to full speed of 2900 rpm
were recorded by all the six probes continuously with the
help of an oscilloscope and analysed to obtain the vibration
amplitude of rotor at various speeds Fig.9(a) & (b).
TABLE 1. MAXIMUM AMPLITUDE OF DEVIATION (DMAX)
– RADIAL ROTOR
Trial run Maximum amplitude (Dmax) of
vibration (micron)
at 2900 rpm (radial)
Trial-1 281.7
Trial-2 266.8
Trial-3 205.2
 International Conference on Magnetics, Machines & Drives (AICERA-2014 iCMMD)

TABLE 2. MAXIMUM AMPLITUDE OF DEVIATION (DMAX)

– THRUST ROTOR

Trial run Maximum amplitude (Dmax) of

vibration (micron)
at 2500 rpm (Thrust)
Trial-1 253.2
Trial-2 252.1

COUPLING

SENSOR HOLDER Fig. 9 (a). Variation of Maximum amplitude of vibration in radial

direction with speed.

ROTOR
THRUST ROTOR DISC

SENSOR
M45x2 LH Threads
SENSOR

2
SHAFT

Fig. 9 (b). Variation of Maximum amplitude of vibration in axial

direction with speed.

From the results obtained (Table 1&2), maximum axial

amplitude of vibration at the magnetic actuator location is
only 252 µm while the axial gap at the same location is 500
µm and therefore no contact exists between the thrust rotor
and the actuator.
In the radial direction, the maximum amplitude of vibration
at radial magnetic actuator location is 266.8 µm at 2900rpm
while the radial auxiliary bearing clearance is only
100µm.This shows that the radial auxiliary bearing is
providing radial guidance during operation. Hence
appropriate tuning of AMB was done to improve the
IMPELLER

performance of radial AMB. The tuning was done by

Fig.8. Eddy probe locations with respect to the rotor assembly
changing the reference point and then increasing feedback
gains to achieve the required bearing stiffness of radial
AMB in a trial basis. After increasing the bearing stiffness
the maximum amplitude of radial vibration was reduced to
205.2 µm. Thus although tuning has resulted in improved
performance, some contact with the radial auxiliary bearing
is still not avoided. Further tests to evaluate the performance
of radial bearing by increasing the clearance in the auxiliary
 International Conference on Magnetics, Machines & Drives (AICERA-2014 iCMMD)

bearing and also further tuning of magnetic actuator is
planned
The deflection measured at the radial auxiliary bearing
location is on higher side due to eccentricity of rotor at
hydrostatic bearing and possible misalignment between
motor and pump shafts. Moreover, in this case the elevation
at which radial deflection is measured is not at the location
of the auxiliary bearing (because this region is inaccessible
as it is within the seal housing) but at an elevation that is
higher. This can result in the measured values of deflection
being higher than that at the elevation of the auxiliary radial
bearing because during operation the shaft will run with
eccentricity at the bottom hydrostatic bearing.
D. Performance of pump – characteristic curve
The pump was operated at various speeds and the
performance of the pump measured. The pump head (H)
versus flow (Q) characteristic was plotted and found to be in
agreement with that established earlier. The H vs. Q curve
for a pump speed of 2500 rpm is plotted in Fig 10.
[2] IAEA TECDOC-1180, Unusual occurrences during LMFBR
operation, Proc. Of Technical Committee Meeting, Vienna, 9-13 Nov.
1998.
[3] Karassik, I.J., Messina, J.P, Cooper, Paul and Heald, Charles C.,
Pump Handbook, McGraw Hill, 3rd edition.
[4] Xu Yang, et.al., Design aspects and achievements of active magnetic
bearing research for HTR-10GT, Nuclear Engineering and Design,
Volume 238, Issue 4, April 2008, Pages 1121–1128.
[5] Lei Shi, et.al.,Technical design and principle test of active magnetic
bearings for the turbine compressor of HTR-10GT, Nuclear
Engineering and Design.
[6] Gerhard Schweitzer, Eric H. Maslen(2009), Magnetic bearings:
Theory, design, and application to rotating machinery,
New York,SpringerPP69-82.
[7] International Standard ISO 14839-2 (Mechanical Vibration –
Vibration of rotating machinery equipped with active magnetic
bearings – Part 2: Evaluation of Vibration.

Fig .10. Head Vs discharge curve at 2500rpm

VI. CONCLUSIONS
The application of actively controlled magnetic bearings
for centrifugal pump eliminates the possibility of oil ingress
from pump and the resulting shutdown for clean up works
thereby minimizing pump maintenance time. Radial and
axial AMB have been designed and integrated with a small
centrifugal sodium pump and the performance of the
integrated system established at various speeds up to the
pump rated speed of 2900 rpm. The performance of the
thrust bearing is excellent and in conformance with ISO
14839.The radial bearing performance is satisfactory and
some improvements are necessary to achieve the limits
imposed by ISO14839.

REFERENCES

[1] Sreedharan, K.V. et al, Selection of oil for mechanical seals and
bearing of primary sodium pumps of PFBR,
PFBR/32111/DN/1014/R-A.