Stabilization of a new PMs Bearing

The stabilization of a new Permanent Magnets (PMs) bearing is presented. The device is composed of a rotor capable to levitate at a short distance from a dedicated stator. The magnetic suspension is achieved by proper configurations of PMs arranged on both the stator and the rotor. The device is characterized by intrinsic instability and passive stabilization is attempted exploiting eddy currents on a conducting sheet surrounding the stator magnets. The device has been extensively simulated by means of a dedicated numerical tool capable to take into account the magneto-mechanical coupling. In particular, it has been shown that the stability with respect to the translation of the center of mass can be passively obtained, if the rotations are actively prevented. The design of the active control of the rotor orientation will be here discussed.