Design Formulas for Permanent-Magnet Bearings

As the energy densities in permanent magnet materials increases, permanent magnet (PM) bearings are becoming increasingly attractive machine elements for applications ranging from turbo machinery to energy storage flywheels. Desirable qualities include high speed, low wear, energy savings, and freedom from lubricants that can degrade or contaminate other system components. In this paper we develop analytical expressions for stiffness and peak load in stacked-structure radial magnetic bearings that extend the seminal work of Backers, and Yonnet and co-workers. In addition to the derivation of simple design rules, the axial peak force and negative axial stiffness are calculated.