Vertical, radial and drag force analysis of superconducting magnetic bearings

The behavior of the force between a permanent magnet (PM) and a high temperature superconductor (HTS) was tested with the frozen-image model based on flux pinning. It was found that the associated dipole moment assumptions of the method of the frozen image underestimate the force somewhat; thus a quadrupole moment analysis is proposed. The radial and drag forces associated with the rotation of the PM levitated above the HTS were measured by using a force transducer and by means of a cantilevered beam technique. The radial force was found not to be dependent on the radial direction, and the least radial force was found to be periodic with an angular displacement during the slow rotation of the PM relative to the HTS. The periodicity behavior of the force is attributed to the geometric eccentricity from the magnetization distribution of the PM and HTS. The drag force associated with the torsional stiffness of the levitated PM during the low and high rotational speeds was incorporated with the data from the literature.