NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Magnetic bearings-state of the artMagnetic bearings have existed for many years, at least in theory. Earnshaw's theorem, formulated in 1842, concerns stability of magnetic suspensions, and states that not all axes of a bearing can be stable without some means of active control. In Beam's widely referenced experiments, a tiny (1/64 in diameter) rotor was rotated to the astonishing speed of 800,000 rps while it was suspended in a magnetic field. Despite a long history, magnetic bearings have only begun to see practical application since about 1980. The development that finally made magnetic bearings practical was solid state electronics, enabling power supplies and controls to be reduced in size to where they are now comparable in volume to the bearings themselves. An attempt is made to document the current (1991) state of the art of magnetic bearings. The referenced papers are large drawn from two conferences publications published in 1988 and 1990 respectively.
Document ID
19910016099
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Fleming, David P.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1991
Subject Category
Mechanical Engineering
Report/Patent Number
NASA-TM-104465
E-6309
NAS 1.15:104465
Accession Number
91N25413
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 505-63-5B
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
No Preview Available