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Magnetic bearing
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A magnetic bearing is a type of bearing that supports a load using magnetic levitation. Magnetic bearings support
moving parts without physical contact. For instance, they are able to levitate a rotating shaft and permit relative motion
with very low friction and no mechanical wear. Magnetic bearings support the highest speeds of any kind of bearing and
have no maximum relative speed.

Active bearings have several advantages: they do not suffer from wear, have low friction, and can often accommodate
irregularities in the mass distribution automatically, allowing rotors to spin around their center of mass with very low
vibration.

Passive magnetic bearings use permanent magnets and, therefore, do not require any input power but are difficult to
A magnetic bearing
design due to the limitations described by Earnshaw's theorem. Techniques using diamagnetic materials are relatively
undeveloped and strongly depend on material characteristics. As a result, most magnetic bearings are active magnetic
bearings, using electromagnets which require continuous power input and an active control system to keep the load stable. In a combined design, permanent
magnets are often used to carry the static load and the active magnetic bearing is used when the levitated object deviates from its optimum position.
Magnetic bearings typically require a back-up bearing in the case of power or control system failure.

Magnetic bearings are used in several industrial applications such as electrical power generation, petroleum refinement, machine tool operation and natural
gas handling. They are also used in the Zippe-type centrifuge,[1] for uranium enrichment and in turbomolecular pumps, where oil-lubricated bearings would
be a source of contamination.

Design
An active magnetic bearing works on the principle of electromagnetic suspension based on the induction of eddy currents
in a rotating conductor. When an electrically conducting material is moving in a magnetic field, a current will be
generated in the material that counters the change in the magnetic field (known as Lenz's Law). This generates a current
that will result in a magnetic field that is oriented opposite to the one from the magnet. The electrically conducting
material is thus acting as a magnetic mirror.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

The hardware consists of an electromagnet assembly, a set of power amplifiers which supply current to the
electromagnets, a controller, and gap sensors with associated electronics to provide the feedback required to control the
position of the rotor within the gap. The power amplifier supplies equal bias current to two pairs of electromagnets on
opposite sides of a rotor. This constant tug-of-war is mediated by the controller, which offsets the bias current by equal
Basic operation for a single axis
and opposite perturbations of current as the rotor deviates from its center position.

The gap sensors are usually inductive in nature and sense in a differential mode. The power amplifiers in a modern commercial application are solid state
devices which operate in a pulse-width modulation configuration. The controller is usually a microprocessor or digital signal processor.

Two types of instabilities are typically present in magnetic bearings. Attractive magnets produce an unstable static force that decreases with increasing
distance and increases at decreasing distances. This can cause the bearing to become unbalanced. Secondly, because magnetism is a conservative force, it
provides little damping; oscillations may cause loss of successful suspension if any driving forces are present.

History
The table below lists several early patents for active magnetic bearings. Earlier patents for magnetic suspensions can be found but are excluded here because
they consist of assemblies of permanent magnets of problematic stability per Earnshaw's Theorem.

Early U.S. patents in active magnetic bearings

Inventor(s) Year Patent number Title

Beams, Holmes 1941 2,256,937 Suspension of Rotatable Bodies

Beams 1954 2,691,306 Magnetically Supported Rotating Bodies

Gilbert 1955 2,946,930 Magnetic suspension

Beams 1962 3,041,482 Apparatus for Rotating Freely Suspended Bodies

Beams 1965 3,196,694 Magnetic Suspension System

Wolf 1967 3,316,032 Poly-Phase Magnetic Suspension Transformer

Boden et al. 1968 DE1750602 Magnetische Lagerung (German patent)

Lyman 1971 3,565,495 Magnetic Suspension Apparatus

Habermann 1973 3,731,984 Magnetic Bearing Block Device for Supporting a Vertical Shaft Adapted for Rotating at High Speed

Habermann, Loyen, Joli, Aubert 1974 3,787,100 Devices Including Rotating Members Supported by Magnetic Bearings

Habermann, Brunet 1977 4,012,083 Magnetic Bearings

Habermann, Brunet, LeClére 1978 4,114,960 Radial Displacement Detector Device for a Magnetic Bearings

Croot, Estelle 1990 1,988,024,350 Further Improvements in Magnetic Bearings

Meeks, Crawford R 1992 5,111,102 Magnetic Bearing Structure

Croot, Estelle 1994 1,991,075,982 Non-linear Magnetic Bearing

Jesse Beams from the University of Virginia filed some of the earliest active magnetic bearing patents[12][13] during World War II. The patents dealt with
ultracentrifuges intended for the enrichment of isotopes of elements needed for the Manhattan Project. However, magnetic bearings did not mature until
advances in solid-state electronics and modern computer-based control technology with the work of Habermann[14] and Schweitzer.[15] In 1987, Estelle
Croot further improved active magnetic bearing technology,[16] but these designs were not manufactured due to expensive costs of production, which used a
laser guidance system. Estelle Croot's research was the subject of three Australian patents [4] (http://www.ipaustralia.com.au/applicant/croot-estelle/paten
ts/) and was funded by Nachi Fujikoshi, Nippon Seiko KK and Hitachi, and her calculations were used in other technologies that used rare-earth magnets
but the active magnetic bearings were only developed to the prototype stage. Croot's[17] design also included an advance computerised control system, while

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the last design was a non-linear magnetic bearing.

Kasarda[18] reviews the history of active magnetic bearings in depth. She notes that the first commercial application of active magnetic bearings was in
turbomachinery. The active magnetic bearing allowed the elimination of oil reservoirs on compressors for the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) gas
pipelines in Alberta, Canada. This reduced the fire hazard allowing a substantial reduction in insurance costs. The success of these magnetic bearing
installations led NGTL to pioneer the research and development of a digital magnetic bearing control system as a replacement for the analog control systems
supplied by the American company Magnetic Bearings Inc. In 1992, NGTL's magnetic bearing research group formed the company Revolve Technologies
Inc. [5] (http://www.skfmagneticbearings.com) for commercializing the digital magnetic bearing technology. The company was later purchased by SKF of
Sweden. The French company S2M, founded in 1976, was the first to commercially market active magnetic bearings. Extensive research on magnetic
bearings continues at the University of Virginia in the Rotating Machinery and Controls Industrial Research Program [6] (http://www.virginia.edu/romac/).

During the decade starting in 1996, the Dutch oil-and-gas company NAM installed twenty gas compressors, each driven by a 23-megawatt variable-speed-
drive electric motor. Each unit was fully equipped with active magnetic bearings on both the motor and the compressor. These compressors are used in the
Groningen gas field to extract the remaining gas from this large gas field and to increase the field capacity. The motor-compressor design was done by
Siemens and the active magnetic bearings were delivered by Waukesha Bearings (owned by Dover Corporation). (Originally these bearings were designed by
Glacier, this company was later taken over by Federal Mogul and is now part of Waukesha Bearings.) By using active magnetic bearings and a direct drive
between motor and compressor (without having a gearbox in between) and by applying dry gas seals, a fully dry-dry (oil-free) system was achieved. Applying
active magnetic bearings in both the driver and in the compressor (compared to the traditional configuration using gears and ball bearings) results in a
relatively simple system with a very wide operating range and high efficiencies, particularly at partial load. As was done in the Groningen field, the full
installation can additionally be placed outdoors without the need for a large compressor building.

Non-contacting permanent magnet bearings with electromotive stabilisation were applied for patent by R. G. Gilbert in 1955 (U. S. Patent 2,946,930) [19]
and K. Boden, D. Scheffer in 1968 (German Patent 1750602).[20] These inventions provide the technological basis for a number of practical applications,
some of which have reached the stage of industrial series production under licence from Forschungszentrum Jülich since about 1980.[21][22]

Meeks[23] pioneered hybrid magnetic bearing designs (US patent 5,111,102) in which permanent magnets provide the bias field and active control coils are
used for stability and dynamic control. These designs using permanent magnets for bias fields are smaller and of lighter weight than purely electromagnetic
bearings. The electronic control system is also smaller and requires less electrical power because the bias field is provided by the permanent magnets.

As the development of the necessary components progressed, scientific interest in the field also increased, peaking in the first International Symposium on
Magnetic Bearings held in 1988 in Zürich with the founding of the International Society of Magnetic Bearings by Prof. Schweitzer (ETHZ), Prof. Allaire
(University of Virginia), and Prof. Okada (Ibaraki University). Since then, the symposium has developed into a biennial conference series with a permanent
portal on magnetic bearing technology [7] (http://www.magneticbearings.org) where all symposium contributions are made available. The web portal is
supported by the international research and industrial community. Joining the hall of fame and earning lifetime achievement awards in 2012 were Prof.
Yohji Okada, Prof. Gerhard Schweitzer, and Michael Swann of Waukesha Magnetic Bearings [8] (http://www.magneticbearings.org/?page_id=1132).

Applications
Magnetic bearing advantages include very low and predictable friction, and the ability to run without lubrication and in a vacuum. Magnetic bearings are
increasingly used in industrial machines such as compressors, turbines, pumps, motors and generators.

Magnetic bearings are commonly used in watt-hour meters by electric utilities to measure home power consumption. They are also used in energy storage or
transportation applications and to support equipment in a vacuum, for example in flywheel energy storage systems.[24] [25] A flywheel in a vacuum has very
low wind resistance losses, but conventional bearings usually fail quickly in a vacuum due to poor lubrication. Magnetic bearings are also used to support
maglev trains in order to get low noise and smooth ride by eliminating physical contact surfaces. Disadvantages include high cost, heavy weight and
relatively large size.

Magnetic bearings are also used in some centrifugal compressors for chillers with a shaft made up of magnetic material lies between magnetic bearings. A
small amount of current provides magnetic levitation to the shaft which remains freely suspended in air ensuring zero friction between the bearing and the
shaft.

Among the most significant industrial applications are turbomolecular pumps for vacuum generation in semiconductor production plants. First commercial
magnetic bearing type turbopumps without mechanical stabilisation were marketed by Leybold AG in 1975 (electromagnetic) and in 1989 (permanent
magnet based).

In the field of vacuum metrology the spinning rotor gauge (SRG) was introduced as a reference standard by BIPM, Paris 1979. A first laboratory setup of this
gauge was established by Jesse Beams in 1946. Commercial series production started in 1980 under licences from Forschungszentrum Jülich. The SRG is
significant for vacuum process control in semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

A new application of magnetic bearings is in artificial hearts. The use of magnetic suspension in ventricular assist devices was pioneered by Prof. Paul Allaire
and Prof. Houston Wood at the University of Virginia, culminating in the first magnetically suspended ventricular assist centrifugal pump (VAD) in 1999.

Several ventricular assist devices use magnetic bearings, including the LifeFlow heart pump,[26] the DuraHeart Left Ventricular Assist System,[27] the
Levitronix CentriMag,[28] and the Berlin Heart.[29] In these devices, the single moving part is suspended by a combination of hydrodynamic force and
magnetic force. By eliminating physical contact surfaces, magnetic bearings make it easier to reduce areas of high shear stress (which leads to red blood cell
damage) and flow stagnation (which leads to clotting) in these blood pumps.[30] Berlin Heart INCOR was the first commercial ventricular assist device
without mechanical or fluid dynamic stabilisation.

Calnetix Technologies (https://www.calnetix.com/), Synchrony Magnetic Bearings (subsidiary of Johnson Controls International), Waukesha Magnetic
Bearings, and S2M (subsidiary of SKF) are among the major magnetic bearing developers and manufacturers worldwide.

Future advances
With the use of an induction-based levitation system present in maglev technologies such as the Inductrack system,
magnetic bearings could replace complex control systems by using Halbach arrays and simple closed loop coils. These
systems gain in simplicity, but are less advantageous with regard to eddy current losses. For rotating systems it is possible
to use homopolar magnet designs instead of multipole Halbach structures, which reduce losses considerably.

An example that has bypassed the Earnshaw's theorem issues is the homopolar electrodynamic bearing invented by Dr
Torbjörn Lembke.[31][32][33] This is a novel type of electromagnetic bearing based on a passive magnetic technology. It
does not require any control electronics to operate and works because the electrical currents generated by motion cause a
restoring force.[34][35][36]

See also An axial homopolar electrodynamic

bearing

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Flywheel
Levitron
Spin-stabilized magnetic levitation
Electrodynamic wheel

References
1. Charles, D., Spinning a Nuclear Comeback,
Science, Vol. 315, (30 March 2007)
2. Basore P. A., "Passive Stabilization of Flywheel
Magnetic Bearings," Master’s thesis,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA),
1980.
3. Murakami C. and Satoh I., “Experiments of a
Very Simple Radial-Passive Magnetic Bearing
Based on Eddy Currents”, In Proceedings of the
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4. Bender D. and Post R. F., “Ambient
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Arrays”, In Proceedings of the 9th International
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8. Sandtner J. and Bleuler H., “Passive
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Especially Designed for Constant Speed
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9. Amati N., De Lépine X., and Tonoli A.,
“Modeling of electrodynamic Bearings”, ASME
Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 130, 2008.
10. Kluyskens V., Dehez B., “Dynamical
electromechanical model for passive magnetic
bearings”, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 43,
pp 3287-3292, 2007.
11. Kluyskens V., Dehez B., “Parameterized
electromechanical model for magnetic bearings
with induced currents”, Journal of System
Design and Dynamics - Special Issue on the
Eleventh International Symposium on Magnetic
Bearings, 2009.[1] (http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/ar
ticle/jsdd/3/4/453/_pdf)
12. Beams, J. , Production and Use of High
Centrifugal Fields, Science, Vol. 120, (1954)
13. Beams, J. , Magnetic Bearings, Paper 810A,
Automotive Engineering Conference, Detroit,
Michigan, USA, SAE (Jan. 1964)
14. Habermann, H. , Liard, G. Practical Magnetic
Bearings , IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 16, No. 9,
(September 1979)
15. Schweitzer, G. , Characteristics of a Magnetic
Rotor Bearing for Active Vibration Control,
Paper C239/76, First International Conference
on Vibrations in Rotating Machinery, (1976)
16. Estelle Croot, Australian Inventors Weekly,
NSW Inventors Association, Vol. 3, (April 1987)
17. Sawsan Ahmed Elhouri Ahmed, Nuha Abdallah
Mohammed Babker & Mohamed Toum Fadel,
"A Study on Classes of Magnetism," IJISET -
International Journal of Innovative Science,
Engineering & Technology, Vol. 6 Issue 4, 2348
– 7968, (2019).
18. Kasarda, M. An Overview of Active Magnetic
Bearing Technology and Applications, The
Shock and Vibration Digest, Vol.32, No. 2: A
Publication of the Shock and Vibration
Information Center, Naval Research Laboratory,
(March 2000)
19. R. G. Gilbert, "Magnetic suspension" [2] (https://
patents.google.com/patent/US2946930) 1955
20. K. Boden, D. Scheffer, "Magnetische Lagerung"
[3] (https://patents.google.com/patent/DE17506
02A1/no) 1968
21. Johan K. Fremerey, "Permanentmagnetische
Lager" (https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio
n/238709913_Permanentmagnetische_Lager),
November 2000 (in German)
22. Johan K. Fremerey, "Permanent magnet
bearings" (https://www.researchgate.net/publica
tion/331652990_Permanent_Magnet_Bearings),
March 2019
23. Meeks, C.R., "Magnetic Bearings - Optimum
Design and Application", Paper presented at the
International Workshop on Rare Earth Cobalt
Permanent Magnets, University of Dayton,
Dayton, Ohio, October 14–17, 1974
24. Johan K. Fremerey and Michael Kolk (1999) "A
500-Wh power flywheel on permanent magnet
bearings" (https://www.researchgate.net/publica 33. Seminar at KTH – the Royal Institute of
tion/285536773_A_500-Wh_power_flywheel_on
_permanent_magnet_bearings)
25. Li, Xiaojun; Anvari, Bahar; Palazzolo, Alan;
Wang, Zhiyang; Toliyat, Hamid (2018-08-14). "A 34. Amati, N., Tonoli, A., Zenerino, E., Detoni, J. G.,
Utility Scale Flywheel Energy Storage System
with a Shaftless, Hubless, High Strength Steel
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n/321059437). IEEE Transactions on Industrial
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doi:10.1109/TIE.2017.2772205 (https://doi.org/1 35. Filatov, A. V., Maslen, E. H., and Gillies, G. T.,
0.1109%2FTIE.2017.2772205). S2CID 4557504
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504).
26. "Recent work on the LifeFlow heart pump" (htt 36. Filatov, A. V., Maslen, E. H., and Gillies, G. T.,
p://www.magneticbearings.org/2012/12/15/ventr
icular-assist-device/). Linz Center of
Mechatronics GmbH.
27. Smart, Frank. "Magnetic levitation heart pump
implanted in first U.S. patient" (http://www.heali
o.com/cardiology/hf-transplantation/news/print/c
ardiology-today/%7B74b7c676-ca44-4c7c-9d9b
-ed4f84a33e27%7D/magnetic-levitation-heart-p
ump-implanted-in-first-us-patient). "Cardiology
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28. Hoshi, H; Shinshi, T; Takatani, S (2006). "Third-
generation Blood Pumps with Mechanical
Noncontact Magnetic Bearings". Artificial
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doi:10.1111/j.1525-1594.2006.00222.x (https://d
oi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1525-1594.2006.00222.x).
PMID 16683949 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.g
ov/16683949).
29. March 10, 2004, "Jülich Magnetic Bearings in
Cardiac Surgery" (https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/n
ews/archive/press-release/2004/index3bf7_htm)
30. "Biological Systems - Heart Assist Pump" (htt
p://www.mae.virginia.edu/arl/biological.systems.
php) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201
61008111102/http://www.mae.virginia.edu/arl/bi
ological.systems.php) 2016-10-08 at the
Wayback Machine. Aerospace Research
Laboratory. University of Virginia.
31. "Design and Analysis of a Novel Low Loss
Homopolar Electrodynamic Bearing." (http://ww
w.magnetal.se/Dokument/PhDThesis.pdf)
Lembke, Torbjörn. PhD Thesis. Stockholm:
Universitetsservice US AB, 2005.
ISBN 91-7178-032-7
32. "3D-FEM Analysis of a Low Loss Homopolar
Induction Bearing" (http://www.kth.se/ees/forskn
ing/publikationer/modules/publications_polopoly
/reports/2004/IR-EE-EME_2004_015.pdf?l=en_
UK) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2011
0608154611/http://www.kth.se/ees/forskning/pu
blikationer/modules/publications_polopoly/report
s/2004/IR-EE-EME_2004_015.pdf?l=en_UK)
2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine Lembke,
Torbjörn. 9th International Symposium on
Magnetic Bearings (ISMB9). Aug. 2004.
Technology (https://archive.today/20120525024
315/http://www.kth.se/ees/kalender/seminarier/
1.54496) Stockholm. Feb 24. 2010
Impinna, F., "Design Methodology of
Electrodynamic Bearings", XXXVIII
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Solecitazioni, Convegno Nazionale, No. 109,
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3345-3353.

Further reading
Schweitzer, G (2002). "Active Magnetic Bearings – Chances and Limitations" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090205181908/http://www.mcgs.ch/web-con
tent/AMB-chances_and_limit.pdf) (PDF). Proc. 6th Internat. IFToMM Conf. On Rotor Dynamics. Archived from the original (http://www.mcgs.ch/web-conte
nt/AMB-chances_and_limit.pdf) (PDF) on 2009-02-05.
Chiba, A., Fukao, T., Ichikawa, O., Oshima, M., Takemoto, M., Dorrel, D. (2005). Magnetic Bearings and Bearingless Drives. Newnes.
Schweitzer, G., Maslen, H. (2009). Magnetic Bearings, Theory, Design, and Application to Rotating Machinery. Springer.
Jim Wilson (September 1999). "Beating Demon Friction" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080905094455/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/resear
ch/1281766.html). Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original (http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/1281766.html) on 2008-09-05.
Estelle Croot (1987–1995). Improved Magnetic Bearings (http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/auspat/quickSearch.do?queryString=Croot&resultsPerPage
=). IPAustralia [Australian Patent Office database entries].
T. Lembke (2005). PhD Thesis "Design and Analysis of a Novel Low Loss Homopolar Electrodynamic Bearing" (http://www.magnetal.se/Dokument/PhDT
hesis.pdf) (PDF). Stockholm: Universitetsservice US AB. ISBN 91-7178-032-7.
Fremerey, Johan K. (2000). "Permanent Magnet Bearings" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331652990).

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External links
Kinematic Models for Design Digital Library (KMODDL) (http://kmoddl.library.cornell.edu/index.php) - Movies and photos of hundreds of working
mechanical-systems models at Cornell University. Also includes an e-book library (http://kmoddl.library.cornell.edu/e-books.php) of classic texts on
mechanical design and engineering.
MADYN2000, Rotordynamics Software (https://web.archive.org/web/20111106184812/http://www.delta-js.ch/english/software/madyn-2000-for-rotordynam
ics/magnetic-bearings/) supports computer-aided design of Magnetic Bearing controllers and provides multiple analytic reports of design quality.

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