Health & Performance Monitoring Using Active Magnetic Bearings

MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS
Health & Performance Monitoring Using

Active Magnetic Bearings
DATE: 31ST March, 2014
By ‘Abhinav Raj’
Student Number: 4182758
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering . Delft University of Technology

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Health & Performance Monitoring
Using
Active Magnetic Bearings
MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS
In partial
Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering at
Delft University of Technology
Abhinav Raj
4182758
Date: 31ST March 2014
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering . Delft University of Technology

Copyright © Abhinav Raj
All rights reserved.
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DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF FLIGHT PERFORMANCE & PROPULSION
The undersigned here certify that they have read and recommend to the Faculty of
Aerospace Engineering for acceptance of the thesis entitled “Health & Performance
Monitoring Using Active Magnetic Bearings” by Abhinav Raj in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
Graduation Professor:
________________________________________
(Prof. Dr. ir. P. Colonna)
Academic Supervisor:
________________________________________
(Dr. A. Gangoli Rao)
Company Supervisor:
________________________________________
(Sreenivas Raghavendran)
Defense Committee Member:

________________________________________
(Dr. ir. Rene Pecnik )
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Abstract
A
ctive Magnetic Bearing systems (AMB) are currently in
extensive use in industries worldwide. They offer
excellent value in two broad areas. The first area is where
the active magnetic bearings offers operational advantage over
the traditional ball bearing systems in terms of contactless, seal-
less and dry operation thereby reducing the need for lube oil and
seal oil systems. This feature of the AMB is being exploited well
and they are now used in extremely challenging environments.
But more importantly, the second area, which is the online
monitoring of critical process parameters and early detection of
incipient faults, is where its potential has not yet been fully
exploited. This has been possible due to advancement in control
system technology with better signal processing and control
algorithm capabilities enabling AMBs to carry out health
monitoring of the rotating equipments without any need for
additional hardware. Currently, the AMB systems are powerful
enough to store and process high-speed data in its control
cabinets, eliminating the need for a separate data acquisition and
processing system.
This thesis focuses on analyzing and relating the data transmitted

from the AMBs to the possible failure modes of the machines to
create a robust condition monitoring and diagnosis tool that
provides a good overall analysis of the machine health and
performance. It is important to note that the thesis focuses more
on the operational aspect of the machines rather than the design.
This research graduation project is in collaboration with a major

oil & gas company, the final aim of which is to deploy a
monitoring matrix for machines on site, enabling remote
monitoring and diagnostic ability on all machines with AMBs. It is
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quite an attractive advantage to know the status of machines in
extreme environments, like in subsea conditions, to which access
is quite limited and plan activities accordingly.
Keywords: Active Magnetic Bearings, Remote Condition

Monitoring, Diagnosis, Failure Analysis.
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Executive Summary
AMB is a unique integration of rotordynamics, power electronics, electro-magnetism,
control system, control logic and process dynamics. The technology has been
continually improving with advancements in all these fields. The advancement in the
AMB technology is due to advances in control logic and power electronics enabling
magnetic bearings to also act as regulators. This development in AMB technology is an
important step forward in making it an appealing prospect. Currently, AMBs are being
utilized as monitoring devices that act as additional safeguarding instruments and is
part of the reason for AMBs being appealing prospect.
While the technology has been evolved enough to be used as an alternative to

hydrodynamic bearings on critical machines, it is still met with a lot of challenges. Fear
of the unknown is partly responsible for this attitude since the Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEM) typically offer them as a “black box” operation device. Traditional
engineers are more comfortable with hydrodynamic bearings as they can understand
the physics involved and therefore take action if there is a need. However, in case of
AMBs, the system being mechatronic in nature demands deeper understanding of the
fields involved.
This thesis focuses on opening up the AMB technology from different perspectives and
addition to that use the technology to relate it to fault detection in real time
applications. The fault detection on machines with fast dynamics is quite difficult and
for that very reason, the focus is on capturing abnormal behavior before it escalates to
an event large enough to trip the machine.
This research is a collaborative effort between TU Delft and a major oil & gas company
with an aim of better understanding the AMB technology in addition to utilizing
incoming real time data from the machines to get a real time picture of the machine’s
health and performance.
A general introduction of AMBs is provided in Chapter One which provides information

on industry experience with AMBs and general advantages.
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Chapter Two draws important comparisons between AMBs and hydrodynamic bearings
to give the reader an overview of the advantages that AMBs offer over the traditional
bearings. It is to be noted that generally, not all these advantages have been
simultaneously realized in application.
The basic principle of operation of AMBs is illustrated in Chapter Three. Further, a

detailed theory and design can be found in reference [4] of this survey.
The integration of several technologies in the AMB design brings in certain complexities
into the system. The key concern is in understanding the technology behind AMBs in
order for them to be successful in application. Along with a look into this aspect, the
experiential learning’s of the industry concerning the AMB technology is reviewed in
Chapter Four. In addition, the various faults to frequent AMB systems are also
highlighted in this section.
Chapter Five summarizes the key understandings of “How to Specify a Magnetic

Bearing” from an end user perspective. This sections looks at the design considerations,
rotordynamics aspects, provides the list of components involved and their post
installation considerations.
Chapter Six focuses on building the initial relations between the deviating values and the
faults. These relations are the outcome of events described in literature and from
incidents recorded on sites. On completion, they have been discussed with site
operators, OEMs and industry experts to validate it.
For further validation, a model was built based on information available from literature
whose description is provided in Chapter Seven.
The results from the model and the relations created for various cases are displayed in
Chapter Eight.
Chapter Nine concludes the thesis by discussing the results obtained from the previous
chapter along with suggestions for future work on the topic.
Chapter Ten discusses the possibility of AMBs replacing ball and roller bearings in
aircraft engines along with the challenges that it faces. While the thesis focuses entirely
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on AMBs employed in the oil & gas industry, the applicability of this technology in the
aerospace industry in a practical way is also being considered seriously.
This report, in short, will enable a reader with the understanding of the AMB technology
with respect to operational usage and in deciding its feasibility for the application being
considered in addition to the relating real time AMB data to the faults creeping in the
system.
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Acknowledgement
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
As I approach one of life’s many pit stops and look back, the last 3 years have definitely
been the most memorable. I have probably experienced and achieved much more than
what I previously had and it forms as the perfect base for me to launch on to the next
phase of my journey.
However, no matter how I look at it, I could never have made it this far on my own. Be it
people I have closely interacted with or some random stranger who caught my fancy,
the people around me have greatly influenced the person I have now become. So I take
this opportunity to thank those special people without whom, these last few years
would have been unimaginable.
Firstly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Arvind Gangoli Rao, my
thesis academic supervisor, not only for his support and guidance during my thesis but
also for being there for me since even before I arrived in the Netherlands. My time here
would have been much different if not for his constant presence and advice.
I would next like to thank Prof. Ian Bennett, my line manager at the company for giving
me my first break into the working world in the form of an internship and continue with
a thesis project. I really appreciate the time and effort he spent aimed at my
development and the opportunity to work from the Bangalore office. I wish to thank
Paul den Held for providing such a learning and development focused environment and
making my stay in Bangalore worthwhile.
I would especially like to thank Sreenivas Raghavendran, my industrial thesis

supervisor, for his time, patience and guidance during my thesis. It was great learning
the basics of rotordynamics from an expert and having his experience in research
projects helped structure my own thesis.
During my time at the company, I had the honor of working and interacting with so
many people who positively influenced my knowledge and personality, and while I
cannot name all of them, I would like to name a few. So here is a hearty thank you to
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Gert Hoefakker, Anton Hulskamp, Jane Kendall, Alexandre Kral, Lukasz Sznajder, Riyas
Ali for all your help and advice.
As the span of my thesis kept extending, there were so many moments when I almost
crashed and burned. It was at these moments when your friends turn to savior and help
you out. I did my thesis in two places, I am glad to have found you all and to have you in
my life at those crucial moments. To start with, the people who made my mornings and
the coffee corner a more pleasant place, Ashan, DK, Vipul, Prasanna and Yu. A special
thanks to Bhuvana, my coffee break companion during my stay in Bangalore office and a
great friend, who helped me overcome the stressful period in my thesis when nothing
seemed to go my way. And to end it, heartfelt appreciation to those special friends who
put up with my tantrums and kept me sane during this whole journey, Ananya, Hardik,
Ravi, Sai, Winoi, Sindhu, Renuka, Chidam and Murali. I could not have done this without
you all.
I am extremely thankful to Peter Wurmsdobler, the author of “State space adaptive

control for a rigid rotor suspended in active magnetic bearings” [11], for helping me to
recreate the AMB model he had created for his PhD degree. Being a crucial piece of my
thesis, his timely help has aided in my thesis coming to fruition.
Lastly but definitely not least in any respect, I would like to thank my parents and family
for their constant love, support and blessings. My parents have sacrificed a lot to ensure
that I get good education and have a bright future ahead of me and so I dedicate this
work to them.
I conclude by thanking God for watching over my family and friends during my absence
and for being there to answer my prayers in his own subtle ways.
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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... V
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ VII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................... XI
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. XIII
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................XV
LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................................... XVII
NOMENCLATURE ......................................................................................................................... XIX
1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1
2. COMPARISON WITH HYDRODYNAMIC BEARINGS ...................................................... 5
3. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION ................................................................................................. 7
4. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................... 11
4.1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 11
4.2. STATE OF THE ART .................................................................................................................... 11
4.3. OPERATING EXPERIENCE ....................................................................................................... 13
4.3.1. Early Experience with AMBs – Industry ......................................................................... 13
4.3.2. Recent Experience .................................................................................................................... 15
4.3.3. Subsea AMB Application ....................................................................................................... 16
4.4. FAULTS ........................................................................................................................................... 17
4.4.1. External Faults .......................................................................................................................... 17
4.4.2. Internal Faults ........................................................................................................................... 18
4.4.3. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 18
5. KEY ASPECTS - SPECIFYING A MAGNETIC BEARING................................................. 21
5.1. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................................................... 21
5.1.1. Auxiliary / Catcher Bearings ............................................................................................... 21
5.1.2. Coils and Control Systems ..................................................................................................... 23
5.1.3. Cabinets ........................................................................................................................................ 24
5.1.4. Condition Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 25
5.2. ROTORDYNAMIC CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................. 26
5.2.1. Natural Frequencies................................................................................................................ 26
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5.2.2. Stability......................................................................................................................................... 26
5.2.3. Unbalance response/Unbalance Force Rejection Control ...................................... 27
5.2.4. Axial Dynamic Analysis .......................................................................................................... 27
5.2.5. Auxiliary Bearing Dynamics ................................................................................................ 28
5.2.6. Bearing Dynamic forces ........................................................................................................ 28
5.3. DIAGNOSTIC CONSIDERATIONS .......................................................................................... 29
6. INITIAL HYPOTHESIS .......................................................................................................... 31
7. MODEL DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................... 39
7.1. PURPOSE OF THE MODEL ....................................................................................................... 39
7.2. METHOD SELECTION ................................................................................................................ 39
7.2.1. Rotordynamics........................................................................................................................... 39
7.2.2. Electronic System ..................................................................................................................... 40
7.2.3. Control Logic .............................................................................................................................. 40
7.3. DEVELOPMENT & VALIDATION ........................................................................................... 40
7.4. MODEL RESULTS FORMATS ................................................................................................... 45
7.5. MODEL SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 46
8. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS .................................................................................................... 47
8.1. CASE 1 – NORMAL OPERATION ............................................................................................ 47
8.2. MONITORING & DETECTION ................................................................................................. 48
8.3. CASE 2 – CHANGE IN SET POINT WITH PI CONTROLLER ........................................... 51
8.4. CASE 3 – CHANGE IN SET POINT WITH ADAPTIVE CONTROLLER .......................... 54
8.5. CASE 4 – APPLICATION OF 100 N LOAD IN X DIRECTION ........................................... 56
8.6. CASE 5 – APPLICATION OF 330 N LOAD IN X DIRECTION ........................................... 59
8.7. CASE 6 – NON-CONSERVATIVE CROSS COUPLING STIFFNESS WITH PI
CONTROLLER ONLY ............................................................................................................................... 62
8.8. CASE 7 – NON-CONSERVATIVE CROSS COUPLING STIFFNESS WITH PI +
ADAPTIVE CONTROLLER ..................................................................................................................... 65
8.9. CASE 8 – INCREASED SYSTEM DISTURBANCE ................................................................ 68
9. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................... 71
10. AMBS & AEROSPACE INDUSTRY ................................................................................... 75
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................... 77
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List of Figures
1. Figure 4.1-1 Schematic of an Active magnetic Bearing [4] ..................................................... 7
2. Figure 4.1-2 AMB Supported Rotor Setup [5] ............................................................................. 8
3. Figure 5.1-1 Auxiliary Bearing [5]................................................................................................. 22
4. Figure 5.1-2 Radial Bearing Coils [5] ........................................................................................... 23
5. Figure 5.1-3 Typical AMB Coil Setup [5] ..................................................................................... 24
6. Figure 5.1-4 Control Cabinet [5] .................................................................................................... 25
7. Figure 6-1 Electromagnet configuration along rotor axis ................................................... 33
8. Figure 6-2 Electromagnet configuration 1 along rotor ends .............................................. 34
9. Figure 6-3 Electromagnet configuration 2 along rotor ends .............................................. 35
10. Figure 5.3-4 Typical AMB arrangement for a 2 – Stage Compressor Machine ............ 37
11. Figure 7.3-1 Single bearing electromagnet configuration [11] ......................................... 41
12. Figure 7.3-2 Rigid rotor model schematics [11] ...................................................................... 42
13. Figure 7.3-3 Campbell Diagram for the Rigid Rotor .............................................................. 45
14. Figure 8.1-1 Case 1 – Rotor Orbit .................................................................................................. 47
15. Figure 8.1-2 Case 1 – Data Plots ..................................................................................................... 48
16. Figure 8.2-1 Case 1 – Limit Applied Data Plots ........................................................................ 50
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List of Tables
1. Table 2-1 AMBs vs. Oil Bearings ....................................................................................................... 6
2. Table 5-1 Diagnostic Requirements ............................................................................................. 30
3. Table 6-1 Axial Bearing Monitoring Matrix ............................................................................... 32
4. Table 6-2 Radial Bearing Monitoring Matrix ............................................................................ 33
5. Table 6-3 Compressor Performance Monitoring Matrix ...................................................... 36
6. Table 7-1 Rotor Dimensions [11] .................................................................................................. 42
7. Table 7-2 AMB Details [11] .............................................................................................................. 46
8. Table 8-1 Limit Setting for Monitoring Purpose...................................................................... 49
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Nomenclature
SYMBOLS USED
0 Permeability of free space in vacuum [Vs/Am]
rs Relative permeability of stator material [–]
rr Relative permeability of rotor material [–]
Number of windings on each pole [–]
Cross-sectional area at the end of the pole [m2]
g, l0 Nominal air-gap [m]
Current supplied to the coils [A]
Base current of primary pole [A]
Base current of complementary pole [A]
Control current [A]
Displacement of rotor from the equilibrium position [m]
Rotor mass [Kg]
Axial mass moment of inertia [kgm2]
Polar mass moment of inertia [kgm2]
a Distance to bearing A [m]
b Distance to bearing B [m]
c Distance to sensor A [m]
d Distance to sensor B [m]
n Distance to plane N’ [m]
kn Non-conservative cross coupling stiffness [N/m]
Ω Rotor speed [rpm]
ls Length of magnetic path in stator [m]
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lr Length of magnetic path in rotor [m]
As Cross section area of magnetic path in stator [m2]
Ar Cross section area of magnetic path in rotor [m2]
Al Cross section area of magnetic path in air [m2]
Bmaxs Maximum induction of stator material [T]
Bmaxr Maximum induction of rotor material [T]
Α Angle between pole shoes [rad]
R Ohmic resistance in coil [Ohm]
L0 Nominal inductivity [H]
R0 Nominal reluctance [A/Vs]
Bearing coordinate matrix
Sensor coordinate matrix
Rotor mass matrix
Rotor gyroscopic matrix
Non-conservative cross-coupling stiffness matrix
Transformation matrix in bearing coordinates
Transformation matrix in sensor coordinates
Transformation matrix for cross-coupling stiffness
Mass matrix in bearing coordinates
Gyroscopic matrix in bearing coordinates
Cross-coupling matrix in bearing coordinates
Actuator force
Load due to rotor weight
Disturbance force
Current gain constant for an AMB system
Position stiffness constant for an AMB system
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ABBREVIATIONS USED
AMB Active Magnetic Bearing
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer
PID Proportional Integral Derivative
OU Operating Unit
ADR Adaptive Disturbance Rejection
API American Petroleum Institute
TCO Total Cost of Ownership
LCC Life-Cycle Cost
OPEX Operational Expenditure
IPS Instrument Protective System
DCS Distributed Control System
RCA Root Cause Analysis
ROMAC Rotating Machinery And Control
FEMM Finite Element Method Magnetics
DAC Digital to Analog Converters
ADC Analog to Digital Converters
PWM Pulse Width Modulators
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1. INTRODUCTION
It was in the early 1980s when it became apparent that the technologies for active
magnetic bearings were developing and being successfully applied. Fundamental
concepts of AMB are known for decades but the current AMB technology developments
with superior control systems is driven by advances made in power electronics, signal
processing and control algorithms.
Over the past 30 years, magnetic bearings have been making significant contributions to
the rotating equipment industry. Deployment of AMB technology for various
applications has also seen rapid expansion in the last few decades. In the oil & gas
industry, some of the major companies employing active magnetic bearing levitated
machines have over 25 years of experience. This experience mainly includes
applications of magnetic bearings with turbomachines such as centrifugal compressors,
turbo expanders, pumps and other rotating equipments such as electric motors.
Magnetic bearings are also found in small, high speed turbomachinery such as high
speed multistage axial flow turbomolecular vacuum pumps used in various industrial
applications [1].
Magnetic bearings for turbo-machinery in oil and gas industry applications are a major
thrust area for research and development and technology deployment. A topic of great
interest is control and monitoring of AMB performance and health in such applications.
Magnetic Bearings use electromagnetic forces (magnetic levitation) to support a rotor
without any physical contact with the load. Thus, although they bear up the weight and
hydraulic loads of the impellers and the shaft, they are not really “bearings” in the
traditional sense of the rotating and stationary surfaces bearing on one another. The
basic principle will be illustrated in Chapter 3.
Design and implementation of magnetic bearings involves multi disciplinary areas of

science and engineering – rotordynamics, electromagnetism, power electronics, control
theory, computer software etc.
Some of the major manufacturers of AMBs in the market are listed below:
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Dresser-Rand Synchrony
MAN Diesel & Turbo – MECOS
SKF S2M
Waukesha
Siemens
Schaeffler FAG
Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) systems are a totally different concept in shaft
support technology. It is a continuously monitored and actively controlled,
electromagnetic suspension system. The active control is provided by sophisticated
rotor position sensors and electronic controls. Active magnetic bearing designs are
available for radial and thrust loading applications and are tailored to meet specific
application requirements [2].
The concept that changes in the dynamic behavior of a rotor could be used for
general fault detection and monitoring is well established [3]. Current methods rely on
the response of the machine to unbalance excitation during run-up, run-down or normal
operation, and are mainly based on pattern recognition approaches.
In spite of the AMBs advantages over traditional bearing, they have the limitation
of its operation not being completely understood. An AMB supported rotor operation is
a combination of rotor dynamics, power electronics, control systems, electro-
magnetism in combination with normal machine operation [4]. Conventional bearing
specialists find the AMBs to be a “black box” type operation requiring better
understanding over its control mechanism which unlike journal bearing cannot be
explained using fluid dynamics.
Application Advantages
The operating principle of actively controlled suspension without mechanical contact
and the unique bearing construction offer the following significant performance
characteristics:
• No wear of mechanical parts due to lack of mechanical friction.
• Virtually noiseless bearing operation.
• Very low energy consumption.
• No lubrication required.
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• Higher speeds are attainable.
• Operation from low cryogenic temperatures up to +450 Degree Celsius.
• Elimination of the path for destructive circulating currents in large electrical
machinery.
Controlling of Characteristics
The active electronic control system makes it possible to:
• Eliminate many imbalance and vibration problems.
• Achieve high stiffness for very exact rotor positioning.
• Provide sufficient damping to allow acceleration through critical speeds with
ease.
• Monitor system performance at all times.
Performance, Economy and Versatility

Some more advantages in terms of performance, economy and versatility are:
• Greater equipment design flexibility.
• Ability to operate in critical environments like vacuum, sterile or corrosive
atmospheres.
• Lubricant related problems such as limited lubricant life or contamination of
environment or processes can be eliminated.
• Lubricant seals, pumps, reservoirs and cooling or heating devices no longer
needed.
• Longer system operating life.
• Improved system efficiency leading to lower operating costs.
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2. COMPARISON WITH
HYDRODYNAMIC BEARINGS
The pros and cons of AMBs with respect to conventional bearings are summarized in
the table below:
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
No lubricating oil system (Lube Oil tank,
Pumps, Filters, O/H Tank, Accumulators, Higher technology levels
instrumentations etc) and fugitive emissions
Lower noise levels (no auxiliary systems like

Negligible overload capabilities
lube oil and seal oil skids)
Potential for seal-less applications, good for Lower capability to deal with gas induced
sour gas applications excitation
Faster start-up, wide speed range capability

–
and higher operating speeds
Reduced number of mechanical components Requires extensive rotor dynamic stability

due to elimination of Lube Oil System. analysis and axial dynamic analysis
System is highly tunable and can be

Service needs highly skilled personnel
remotely monitored
Lesser overall machine skid footprint and

More electrical and controls equipment
weight
Reduced total cost of ownership due to Higher initial cost of equipments and at
elimination of oil system maintenance times higher operational cost.
No rotor seizures and expensive rotor

–
repairs / plug-in replacement.
Eliminates Risk of Process Contamination –
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Reduced power consumption due to higher
Power supply dependence can impact
overall mechanical efficiency and reduced
machine reliability
friction losses
Cleaner machinery decks and reduced risk

of fire and personal injury, due to
elimination of oil. Increased safety due to
–
elimination of process gas leaking into lube
oil tank and elimination of cold gas
migration into lube oil tank
Table 2-1 AMBs vs. Oil Bearings
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3. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
The basic function of the AMB is to generate contact free magnetic field forces by
actively controlling the dynamics of an electromagnet. Figure 1.1 illustrates the major
components of a simple magnetic bearing. A sensor measures the displacement of the
rotor from its reference position. A microprocessor as a controller derives a control
signal from the measurement. A power amplifier transforms this control signal into a
control current, and the control current generates a magnetic field in the actuating
magnets. This results in magnetic forces generated in such a way that the rotor remains
in a hovered position. This control is easily visualized by the schematic in Figure 4.1-1
[4].
Figure 4.1-1 Schematic of an Active magnetic Bearing [4]
From a turbomachinery perspective, in general, there are two types of magnetic

bearings, Radial and Axial. The former uses around four electromagnet pairs to control
the position of the rotor. The rotor is fitted with a ferromagnetic sleeve which the AMB
electromagnets pull on. Each pair of electromagnet is adjusted to pull against one
another. When there is a change from equilibrium, the position sensors next to the
electromagnets detect this change and transfer signals to the control system which in
turn modifies the current supply to the electromagnets suitably. Axial or thrust bearings
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use two disk type electromagnets as stators to control the position of the rotor axially.
These stators are fixed to the housing and placed on opposite sides of a ferromagnetic
disk fitted on to the rotor shaft. Any shift in the disk axially is detected by position a
sensor which in turn activates the control systems to suitably change the supply of
current [4].
Silicon Iron Axial

Laminations Bearings
Silicon
Iron Disk
Radial
Bearings
Figure 4.1-2 AMB Supported Rotor Setup [5]
Mathematically, the force equation for a single electromagnet is given as,

as [6]
Where,
Permeability of free space

s
Number of windings on each pole
Cross-sectional
sectional area at the end of the pole
g Air gap
Current supplied to the coils
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Next, considering there are 2 electromagnets at opposite ends with the rotor suspended
in the centre and there is a deviation from the equilibrium position (x) towards the
complementary pole, the equation can be written as,
! + # ! − #
− '
$ − & $ + &
Where,
Base current of primary pole
Base current of complementary pole
Control current
Displacement of rotor from the equilibrium position
When the unbalance increases and the current supplied to the coils reaches the
maximum current, the magnetic force produced by the coils remains constant. If the
system dynamics is not brought into control by the maximum force the AMB is designed
for and can produce, it usually leads to hard landings and the system trips.
More detail on the theory, design and application is provided in “Magnetic Bearings -
Theory, Design and Application to Rotating Machinery” by Eric Maslen [4] and “Control of
Surge in Centrifugal Compressors by Active Magnetic Bearings” by Se Young Yoon [7].
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4. LITERATURE REVIEW
4.1.INTRODUCTION
Currently, research papers are available for fault detection using AMB as the primary
goal. However, here the focus is on monitoring machines operating in normal conditions
and observing it for unusual developments, enabling us to notice any change in machine
health and detect problems at an early stage. By doing so, suitable actions can be taken
to avoid major problems.
Gerhard Schweitzer finds Magnetic bearings to offer a novel way of solving classical
problems of rotor dynamics by suspending a spinning rotor with no contact, wear and
lubrication, and controlling its dynamic behavior. In a general sense such an Active
Magnetic Bearing - AMB is a typical mechatronics product. The built-in software /
control logic determines its main characteristics, which controls the dynamics. Thus, the
control law of the feedback is responsible for the stability of the hovering state as well
as the stiffness and the damping of such a suspension. Stiffness and damping can be
varied widely within physical limits, and can be adjusted to technical requirements.
They can also be changed during operation [3].
4.2.STATE OF THE ART

An AMB is truly a unique integration of various fields. To understand the operation of
AMB supported rotors, one needs to be familiar with the basics of rotor dynamics,
power electronics, electro-magnetism, control system logic and not to forget the effect
of process dynamics. However, the complexity of AMB operation does not end there.
Advancement in each of these fields in turn aid in improving the AMB technology. [8]
The greatest development in AMB technology is mainly due to advancing control logic
and power electronics. This has equipped the AMB to act as a sensor and nowadays
even a regulator. The advantages offered by AMB in terms of a monitoring device, is just
being reaped but there is also work being done to control processes and avoid surge in
centrifugal machines [7].
Health monitoring of rotating machinery is a field of study that describes and quantifies
the running integrity of a rotating machine. The purpose of health monitoring is to
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observe and prevent possible problems with a rotating machine before a failure occurs.
This type of health monitoring is termed preventive, but the new industry aim is
predictive. Instead of a machine receiving scheduled maintenance, predictive health
monitoring would determine the level and type of damage a machine has and then
predict how much longer the machine can safely continue to operate [9].
The control logic is used to control the force output by an AMB to keep the rotor
suspended. One of the most common approaches is using a PID controller to control the
current based on change in position of the rotor. However, more complex logic and
controllers have been researched to better control the current or voltage in order to
keep the rotor levitated in stable position. The dynamics of a rotor is dependent on the
force applied with the help of electromagnets which is varied by controlling the current
or voltage. Since the control logic is different for different controllers, there is no fixed
dynamic response for a given rotor with different controllers i.e., the rotor response to
disturbance changes with the controller. Some of the commonly used advanced control
approaches are Adaptive Disturbance Rejection (ADR) [10], [11], optimal control,
adaptive/gain scheduled control, genetic algorithms, µ -synthesis, time-delay control,
nonlinear control, H∞ control, fuzzy logic etc. [12].
The reliability of the electronic components has improved since AMBs were first
introduced in industrial applications and they have become more compact as well. This
has allowed for increased applications and functionality in AMB systems. However, it is
quite hard to predict their failure or drift from calibrated values. Efforts are made in the
past to capture these faults in the sensors and various approaches have been tried to
monitor the sensor health [13].
With the AMB operation being dependent on so many different factors, there is a need
to analyze possible failure modes and link it to the deviation in system parameter
values. This will be the main aim of this thesis which will help in fault prediction and
diagnosis and possibly take measures to avoid it.
The possible failure modes for an AMB are discussed in various papers especially of
industries trying out AMBs in the 1980’s [14]. Since then both AMB manufacturers and
industries have used their experience with it to improve on it.
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Based on the interaction with oil and gas industry sites, currently AMB technology is at
a stage that their failures are mainly due to process changes, electronic failures,
turbomachine damage or even bugs in software updates from the manufacturer rather
[2], [15].
4.3.OPERATING EXPERIENCE
4.3.1. Early Experience with AMBs – Industry

Many first and second time users of AMBs have had good experience with very few
problems and high reliabilities. However, just as many users have experienced
operating problems [15]. Some of those problems were associated with putting AMBs
directly into the gas stream. The problems occurred largely due to liquids migrating into
the AMBs and causing electrical shorts. These problems were overcome by changing the
insulation and epoxy on the windings or by using canned bearings.
Revolve carried out a detailed study on the operating history of AMBs applied to natural
gas pipeline compressors operated by the Alberta Gas Transmission Division of Nova
Corporation from 1991 to 1993. It included 31 turbocompressor units equipped with
AMBs [15].
The study was complicated by the fact that many incidents initially tagged as AMB
related, were actually the result of AMB alarm or trip initiated by an event such as
machine surge, ingestion of a foreign object, out-of-balance condition or other incidents
related solely to the rotating equipment itself and not to the AMB.
The reliability of the magnetic bearings is summarized as below;
In 1993, 24% of AMBs showed 100% availability throughout the year and the
average usage of all AMB units increased from 46.15% to 71.56%
Overall unreliability divided into four main areas:
• Mechanical: The mechanical system comprising of AMB, the position
sensor, the rotor and the auxiliary bearing contributed to 7% of the
failure events.
• Controls: Control system caused 67% of events in 1993. 78% of these
were due to components which are now substituted by software’s. The
rest 22% was caused by essential components like converters and
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amplifiers. The vendor now offers improved components with higher
reliability
• Chillers: Chillers accounted for 26% of the events but are no longer
required on current bearing control systems.
• Power supplies and backup batteries: Power supplies and battery provided
virtually no unreliability [15].
In an alternate case, the Northern Netherlands, after more than 30 years of production,
the pressure of Groningen onshore gas field was gradually decreasing, requiring
compression over the next 30 years to fulfill capacity obligations [2]. Within a unique
technical and contractual concept which included AMBs, up to 29 electric motor driven
centrifugal compressors with 120 bar discharge pressure was installed to maintain the
necessary input pressure for the Dutch pipeline network.
The functional specification defined the scope of supply, the number of starts and stops,
the annual load-factor, the desired operating envelope, the annual change in process
conditions, references to American Petroleum Institute (API) 617 (1995) and a class –
III PTC-10 (1997) test. The overall objective was to optimize their design to the lowest
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), often also called Life-Cycle Cost (LCC).
In earlier applications, AMBs have been applied with the primary goal of replacing the
oil system. Here, the magnetic bearings were viewed as an enabling technology that is
capable of delivering technical, operational, financial and environmental benefits.
However, their location and operation have been with the intent of making them look
and behave like oil bearings which led to a compromised design that neither capitalized
on the many benefits nor fulfilled oil bearing expectations.
Due to limited operational demands, the compression string has intermittently operated
over its full speed and power range for about 800 hours since November 1998 to
January 2000. However, the standby hours of the plant, including rotor levitation and
compressor under pressure, exceed 10,000 hours [2].
Summing up, many new applications are using AMBs and the reliability and availability
continue to increase to relatively high levels. The rapid change, improvement and
advancement seen in electronics and computer industries have resulted in improved
performance and reliability of AMBs.
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4.3.2. Recent Experience
Summarized in this section are the technical highlights from a comparative study
carried out by the rotating equipment engineering team in 2012 for an Operating Unit
(OU). The following needs to be taken into consideration when using these results:
Compression process efficiency can be defined in different ways, varying from

purely the gas processing side to overall compressor efficiency
Compressors being compared are from different vendors, are of different size,
are of different make, see different process conditions and are used to fulfill
different process needs.
20 AMB compressors are being compared to 3 oil bearing machines
Reliability of ancillary systems such as oil system and purge air for electric
motors is not included.
The OU sees higher availability and reliability per machine at similar utilization figures,
however, AMB system have seen more trips than oil bearing compressors. It should be
said that instrumentation has also been responsible for many trips on the oil bearing
machines in 2012. The AMB system trips are largely from faulty sensors and sensor
boards, control system components for example in the controller, sensors and
amplifiers. Replacement of oil bearings can be done while leaving the compressor
bundle inside the casing which is not possible for replacement of AMB sensors.
Condition monitoring proves to be useful in capturing the slower sensor failures.

Operation is possible across entire performance map, however at higher speeds;
discharge temperature becomes the limiting factor. This is not as easily achieved with
oil bearing machines.
Here, magnetic bearings have a higher OPEX when compared to oil bearings. In regard
to overhaul costs, magnetic bearings cost more when compared to regular oil bearing.
This is because it is needed once every 6 years compared to 7-10 years for oil bearings
(depending on radiation decontamination requirements). Power costs are difficult to
accurately assess, however by comparing polytropic efficiencies it should be possible to
determine which machines are more efficient.
In conclusion, environmental advantages are clear if the oil system is eliminated since
there can be no oil leaks from pumps and or seals. The noise is also so much reduced
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that no acoustic enclosure is needed. The availability and reliability are higher on AMB
machines. Monitoring enables detection of possible failures and helps prevent them in
operation.
On the other hand, due to complexity of technology and increased number of

components the maintenance costs are slightly higher than for the oil bearing machines.
At higher speed ratios, the efficiencies of the both the systems are comparable.
For the OU, looking at the sheer number of compressors installed and the environment
they are in, AMBs were the right choice from an environmental perspective; however
they came with a higher total cost of ownership. It is to be noted that this OU employed
a much older generation of AMBs than what is available in the market today.
4.3.3. Subsea AMB Application

At an alternative OU, the reservoir at present has sufficient natural pressure to drive the
hydrocarbons to shore, but – as for all reservoirs – that pressure will steadily decline,
and later this decade gas compression will be required in the field to boost pressure and
maintain the flow. The AMB supported compressor is being tested in an artificial subsea
set-up. Here, a large pit is dug out of the rock and inside it, submerged under water sits
the world's first full-scale subsea processing and compression system.
At the time of the conceptual design the main functional requirements had been taken
into account. These requirements included maximizing robustness, extending the time
window covered by the same compressor bundle, minimizing the external connections
and achieving a compact solution.
The goal of the project is to mature subsea compression technology so that it can be
selected for use in a permanent subsea compression station on the OU reservoir field. As
the technology has developed, this aim has now evolved and the test object is now being
regarded as representative of the technology to be deployed.
The OU testing of the AMB supported compressor is a recent project, the main purpose
of which is to check the robustness of the AMB systems in terms of handling process and
other upsets while taking advantage of the fact that it needs no lubrication. This
underwater test-bed is enabling the site users to better understand the technology and
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gain experience regarding the operating window of the AMB systems and the challenges
subsea operations pose.
4.4.FAULTS
The operational experience gives a good understanding of possible faults and their
causes. The potential system faults can be broadly classified as internal or external to
the magnetic bearing control system [16].
4.4.1. External Faults

Faults when some external disturbance is acting on the system. These disturbances will
always have a transient component and possibly a steady state component. Typical
external faults are:
• Rotor impact
o A direct impact of the rotor with a foreign body. For example, a
pump or compressor fluid intake could be contaminated with solid
matter – fouling. This type of fault would result in impulsive force
acting directly on the rotor.
• Rotor mass loss
o For example, the loss of compressor or turbine blades.
• Base motion
o Motion of the system base on which the bearings are mounted. In
transport applications, motion of the vehicle will be transmitted to
internally mounted machines. Base motion may also arise from
external vibration sources (e.g. other machines), seismic events
etc.
• Rotor deformation
o Deformation of the rotor while in operation could occur for a
number of reasons. For example, a plastic deformation of the rotor
due to excessive loading/wear or thermal deformations due to
rotor rub etc.
• Sudden changes in loading
o Sudden change in fluid pressures will result in a step change in the
axial rotor loading. Loss of rotor mass will also cause a step change
in mean loading due to a change in total weight of the rotor.
• Rotor rub
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o Contact of the rotor with stationary components results in
vibration, both of the rotor and the surrounding ancillaries. It can
also significantly alter the closed loop dynamics of the system.
4.4.2. Internal Faults

Internal faults are faults in systems which result mainly due to variation in the
operating conditions. In general, electronic components are sensitive to changes in the
environmental conditions they work in and may affect their operation and reliability.
• Power electronics
o Amplifier failure or malfunctions – Although reliable, their
dynamic performance depends on a number of variables (e.g.
ambient temperature, power demand).
• Transducer malfunctions
o The malfunction of a transducer could produce a variety of
erroneous signals. Other than an electrical fault, physical damage
or deterioration is a likely cause of sensor malfunction. For
example, damage to the shaft or debris at the measurement surface
will affect proximity detectors.
• Loss of I/O board channel
o Loss of a channel on the computer input/output board, possibly
due to a circuit break or short in the connection cable, would
produce a zero-valued control input or output signal.
• Magnetic bearing coil failures
o The failure of an electromagnet usually occurs due to a breakdown
in winding insulation, resulting in a short circuit and a reduction in
the number of effective coil windings.
• Computer software errors
• Computer hardware failures
• Rotor faults
o Mechanical faults in the rotating element like fatigue, cracking,
deformation of the rotor or detachment of part of the rotor.
4.4.3. Summary
Operators claim AMB systems to be quite a sensitive piece of equipment that is affected
by faults in adjacent machines and trips before the settings on the Instrument
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Protective System (IPS) and Distributed Control System (DCS) for the adjacent machine
trips. As a result, most of the machine trips are rarely due to AMB failures. The most
common problems associated with AMBs are either sensor failure or failure due to bugs
in the software update by the OEM. Since these failure modes are usually sudden, there
is a very small chance to avoid tripping the machine. However, for slow mode failures
like external failures, by constantly monitoring to catch the drift from normal operation,
these faults can be captured and corrected in time.
Moreover, traditional rotordynamics analysis programs for rotors supported by oil

lubricated bearings are not sufficient to completely predict the rotordynamic behavior
of rotors with active magnetic bearings. For accurate predictions, a comprehensive
analysis of the complete bearing control system is also necessary.
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5. KEY ASPECTS - SPECIFYING A
MAGNETIC BEARING
5.1.DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The specification of a magnetic bearing requires a different approach to that required
for a conventional bearing system. This section identifies the key areas where these
differences occur and how to specify a magnetic bearing.
5.1.1. Auxiliary / Catcher Bearings

A hard landing is defined as a strong contract between the rotor and the auxiliary
bearing. Depending on the auxiliary bearing type, material and design, they need to be
replaced after a certain number of hard landings. For ball bearings, it is generally
observed that after 3-5 hard landings of a centrifugal compressor rotor, the auxiliary
bearing needs to be replaced.
As the name signifies, an Active Magnetic Bearing is an actively controlled bearing

system i.e., there is a requirement of minimum power to even levitate the rotor
statically. The control system is one of the most crucial components of this system. The
role of the control system starts with static levitation of the rotor and centering it with
respect to the electromagnets. Once the rotor is rotating, it acts as a troubleshooting
device and corrects any deviation from the equilibrium position. Any malfunction in the
control system components could result in hard landings.
The rotor can move considerably within the magnetic bearing and auxiliary bearing
clearances, before any contact is involved. Thus, the clearances in the internal ring-seal
system becomes the key controlling parameter in setting the bearing clearance design
limits and in the degree of motion permitted during transients. Thus, very early in the
design process, the magnetic bearing clearances, catcher bearing clearances, and
sealing-ring clearances must be optimized with due consideration for manufacturing
tolerances and assembly concerns.
However reliable magnetic bearings become, a landing surface for maintenance will be
required. Further, designing a bearing that will take all transient loads without any
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possibility of overload will usually result in over-sized and costly bearings. The design
limits for catcher bearings are usually established by calculating the forces that will
result from a drop at operating speed.
Figure 5.1-1 Auxiliary Bearing [5]
For applications running at significant speeds, a non-linear transient dynamic analysis

is required to determine the motion, landing and loading on the bearing during such a
drop. The key design considerations are impact loads, heat generation during the
rundown, and the response to imbalance if, when running on the catcher bearings, any
critical speeds have to be traversed.
Rolling element bearings have typically been used as catcher bearings; however, sleeve
bearings and bushings have been used in several applications as well, and are better
suited to a submerged application.
A conventional bearing, if overloaded, will accept the load with a higher wear rate, but a
magnetic bearing has a sharp cut-off at the point where the flux saturation level is
reached. At that point, any additional load will be transferred to the auxiliary bearing.
Thus it is important to include all loads in the design specification, process and upset
conditions, with the appropriate margins. All applications to date have generally shown;
a) That there are loads which were mistakenly considered to be insignificant, or
b) That the values of the loads were underestimated due to lack of knowledge.
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Auxiliary bearings also must be carefully designed to handle transient loads, some of
which may occur only once in a lifetime. Two approaches can be taken. One is to
overdesign the bearing to handle the load without contacting the auxiliary bearing; the
other is to allow momentary contact with the auxiliary bearing.
In addition, it should be also considered if the AMBs will be installed in the process gas.
In case it is, and depending on the medium, to avoid contamination, there is a need to
can the bearings.
The key specification aspects for Auxiliary Bearings are:
Loads/Hard Landing for all operating conditions

Type of Auxiliary Bearing
Material (generally determined by the hard landing load and the number of hard
landings)
Installation of AMBs in the process gas – Need to go for “Canned” bearings
5.1.2. Coils and Control Systems

Based on the mass, length of the rotor and process stability, the gap values between the
rotor and auxiliary bearings are set. This dictates the design of the electromagnets i.e.,
the number of turns in the electromagnet coils and the current limits of the coils. In
turn, the current supplied to the coils of the electromagnets dictate the force generated
by them, till the coils are saturated.
Figure 5.1-2 Radial Bearing Coils [5]
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The base current is the current supplied to the coils, just enough to levitate the static
rotor with the desired gap. Once levitated and in rotation, the change in position is
detected and a calculated amount of control current is added to the base current and
supplied to the coils at the opposite side of the displacement
displacement and the same amount is
subtracted from the base current and supplied to the coils on the side of the
displacement.
Figure 5.1-3 Typical AMB Coil Setup [5]

In addition to the control approaches mentioned in
i Chapter 4, the
he control algorithm can
further be structured into either a Single Input Single Output (SISO) or Multiple Input
Multiple Output (MIMO).
The key specification aspects for Control Systems are:
Rotor specifications such as mass, length and diameter.

diam
Operating and trip philosophy – redundancy requirements.
Gap
Bearing load capacity (Should be larger than every possible load on the machine)
5.1.3. Cabinets
The cabinet houses the crucial hardware of the control system other than the sensors.
The electronicc components are quite sensitive to temperature changes. If the
temperature in the cabinet and the sensor environment is not controlled within the safe
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operating limits, there is a possibility of the components not operating as intended.
Therefore there is a need to strictly monitor the temperature of the cabinet and the
sensor environment.
Power Amplifiers
Control
Monitoring
Power Supply
Figure 5.1-4 Control Cabinet [5]

The key specification aspects for Cabinets are:
Electronics operating range – Temperature, power requirements
5.1.4. Condition Monitoring

One of the major advantages of magnetic bearing over conventional oil bearings is the
ability to use remote monitoring data for condition monitoring and diagnostics. AMBs
are very sensitive and pick up disturbances not just from its system but from
corresponding machines as well. More than often, magnetic bearings trip due to surge
or other such disturbances making it an excellent tool to assess the condition of the
machines. Some of the parameters of the AMB system that are usually monitored are
current, position and temperature of the coils in addition to the temperature of the
power amplifiers / cabinet. It is also possible to calculate and check for misalignment
between bearings and monitor them.
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5.2.ROTORDYNAMIC CONSIDERATIONS
Rotordynamics of magnetic bearings are distinct and different than the traditional
rotordynamics design approach and related analytical studies. To put it simple, rotors
supported on magnetic bearings are inherently unstable! This apparent demerit is
addressed by the very virtue of the design of the control system, which makes them
stable.
In a traditional hydrodynamic bearing, the stiffness and the damping are a “given” for a
given load and speed. Whereas in an AMB System, the designer / operator can indeed
“play around” and have any stiffness and damping (of course, within an envelope),
thereby even changing the critical speeds on the run. While this appears exciting and
good, it comes with its own set of challenges.
Following are some of the key Rotordynamic “evaluation zones” which are quite unique
to rotor systems using active magnetic bearings. These aspects needs to be closely
looked at during design phase of machines supported by AMBs and while specifying the
AMBs.
5.2.1. Natural Frequencies

With control system frequencies being very high (typically 3-5 KHz), the “concern zone”
widens when a magnetic bearing is used. In essence, we must carefully evaluate several
higher modes of the shaft and even the support structure like the casing. This is
because; some of the very high casing modes can be excited by a control signal, which is
also of very high frequency.
Apart from this, there is an inherent chance that the excitations from the control system
could well excite the nodal diameter of the Impeller disks. As we know, disk modes are
always in the “high frequency zones” and AMB System (in the bandwidth of a general
control system) can well excite these modes. This risk also needs to be evaluated closely
by appropriate evaluations from a structural integrity standpoint.
5.2.2. Stability
As said earlier, a rotor on an AMB is inherently unstable. However, Appropriate design
of the control loop gain and the associated damping, can be extremely useful to design a
rotordynamically stable rotor.
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In a rotor sitting in fluid film bearings, the stability is purely a function of the magnitude
of hydrodynamic forces generated in the bearing. If the cross coupled stiffness’s are
large enough to “destroy” the available damping, then we have instability in a fluid film
bearing machine, else the machine is stable.
However, for an AMB System in the other hand, stability is purely a function of the AMB
Control system design. One can really “tune” the extent of damping which can be made
available to a rotor system, thereby making a rotor “more stable” if needed. Technically
speaking, an unstable rotor sitting on hydrodynamic bearings can be made to behave in
a stable manner, by an appropriate design of the AMBs, within an “envelope” of the
control system.
Also, due to this “tunability” aspect, an AMB can supply large amount of damping to the
system. However, the “price” one has to pay for this is that – there is a need for accurate
modeling of the control system as well as evaluating the impact of the control system
frequencies on all the high frequency modes, which the control system can excite in its
bandwidth.
At times, an extensive iterative design of the control loop transfer function is needed to
arrive at a right damping, to address all the stability issues which may arise from a rotor
supported by an AMB system. This would involve extensive time and effort of highly
skilled personnel.
5.2.3. Unbalance response/Unbalance Force Rejection Control

The AMB System has the capability to reduce the transmitted dynamic forces due to
unbalance. This is accomplished by control strategies that “maintain” the rotor to spin
around its mass centre. This ability is one of the uniqueness of AMB system.
However, rotordynamic calculations must be performed with the unbalance control

feature of the system being made “inactive” in the model, so that the estimates are
conservative and provide worst case scenarios.
5.2.4. Axial Dynamic Analysis

One of the distinct features of machines with an AMB as a thrust bearing is axial
dynamic analysis. In this study, the axial natural frequencies of the rotor system are
calculated. In general the axial stiffness’s of rotor systems are very high. But as it is well
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known, these axial stiffness’s are a series of high stiffness springs which are in series
with the thrust bearing axial stiffness, which are relatively low in magnitude.
It is well known that, when two springs are in series, the spring with a lower stiffness
will dominate the dynamics of the system. With the rotor axial stiffness “orders of
magnitude” higher than that of the Thrust AMB stiffness, the system looks like a large
mass (of the rotor) sitting on a spring (i.e. the thrust AMB), leading to several “axial
modes” in the operating regime, which can be excited in the bandwidth of the AMB
control system.
It is appropriate to mention that this aspect is not a point of concern at all, when a
hydrodynamic thrust bearing is used.
5.2.5. Auxiliary Bearing Dynamics

Under normal operating conditions, the auxiliary bearing systems are inactive. The
rotor operates without contact within a small clearance space between the auxiliary
bearing and the corresponding rotor surface. The auxiliary bearing(s) only come into
contact with the rotor when the AMB system is de-energized and/or overloaded.
This would mean that the Machine Integrity with the Auxiliary bearing loaded, is a key
element in the rotor dynamic design process. Huge impact loads are created due to the
“hard landing” of a rotor on an Auxiliary bearing, which calls for the need for the
following engineering evaluations (which are not done for a machine on fluid film
bearings):
1. Hard Landing “Integrity” Studies – involving extensive non-linear dynamics

analysis followed by fatigue and fracture mechanics computations which is then
followed by appropriate tests.
2. Computation and tests on number of hard landings a bearing can take.
3. Rotordynamic frequencies which may get excited due to hard landing and
machine Integrity for the same.
4. Other aspects such as possibility of backward whirl frequencies getting excited
during hard landing.
5.2.6. Bearing Dynamic forces

One significant difference between AMB's and fluid-film or rolling element bearings is
load capacity. Fluid-film and rolling element bearings can generally handle a short term
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overload well in excess of the rated load capacity (although there may be some
reduction in bearing life). AMB systems cannot handle overloads because of magnetic
saturations. In other words, there is a “hard stop” to the levitating ability of the AMB
beyond which any overloads would lead to “no action” from the AMBs. Hence Bearing
overloads (due to process upsets, surge events etc) must be considered and evaluated
more rigorously from a rotordynamics standpoint during the AMB and rotor system
design.
5.3.DIAGNOSTIC CONSIDERATIONS
Active magnetic bearings have been extensively used in the industry and they offer an
excellent value proposition which can be broadly classified into two wide areas:
1. Seal-less and “Dry” operation (thereby reducing the need for lube oil and seal oil
systems, related accessories)
2. On-line monitoring of critical process parameters and early detection of incipient
faults, such that reliability is increased
While “1” above has been leveraged well, a quick check indicates that the value of “2”
has not been well realized. Hence a robust online performance monitoring system based
on signals emanating from the Active magnetic bearings are necessary to check for
faults and correct them. In addition, the monitoring system provides more operational
insight into the magnetic bearing systems.
Magnetic bearing supported machines are equipped with built-in diagnostic systems.
The position sensors that provide the signal to control the rotor are also used to
compute rotor vibration, imbalance, and other critical diagnostic functions. By using the
position sensors for machine diagnostic purposes, savings are achieved over standard
oil bearing machines, which rely on external monitoring components (proximity
probes/transducers/ and special cables). Further, the remote diagnostic capabilities
provide an added advantage.
It is necessary to know the alarm and trip settings set by the OEMs on their DCS and IPS
system parameters, allowing the site monitoring staff to check / respond to operational
upsets and if possible, take action to avoid trips. Following are some of the crucial
parameters usually monitored and specified as a part of condition monitoring system
requirement.
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Component Safeguarding Parameter
Rotor Position Change / Gap – To check process stability
Rotor Number of hard landings – Contact with auxiliary bearing
Rotor Unbalance, Vibration
Coil Current Change – To check for process stability and coil performance
Coil Temperature – Coil performance
Cabinet Temperature – Operating window for electronic components
Table 5-1 Diagnostic Requirements
Table 5-1 above provides a list of components that require monitoring and the
component specific parameters to monitor.
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6. INITIAL HYPOTHESIS
The main focus in this section is the failure mode analysis and their link with deviating
parameters, from the operational experience data [2], [14], [15]. The objective is to
monitor the operation of these machines in order detect any deviation from normal or
expected operation. To achieve this objective, the monitoring is done on two levels. The
first level consists of monitoring the health of the AMB components i.e., the axial and
radial bearings. The second level monitors the health of the machine the AMBs support.
Both these levels focus on the health monitoring i.e., fault detection while monitoring
the performance. This approach helps monitor the entire system from a health and
performance perspective and thus providing a complete overview on their current
status.
It forms the initial link between parameters and failures [16]. These links will be tested
using the model developed to provide a proven set of diagnostic relations to predict
failures or conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of failure events.
Of all the failure modes for the magnetic bearing systems that were listed in the
literature review section of this report, only few will be considered and the hypothesis
will be built around them. The reason for this restriction is due to the fact that it is hard
to differentiate these faults explicitly based on the data coming in from the AMB
systems.
The idea here is not to converge on one or two possible failures but to list all possible
failure modes due to violation of limits by the indicators.
The likelihood of each failure mode is represented in terms of percentage to put

deviation of indicator values from normal operation into perspective of creeping faults
causing them.
The initial relations between the indicators and the failure modes is established based
on Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of past failure cases, captured in literature and operating
records from oil & gas industries. These relations later have been further refined by
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discussing them with site operators working on AMB equipped machines, Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and industry experts.
The terminologies used for the following tables are as below:
H – Upper limit violation of indicator value.
L – Lower limit violation of indicator value.
X – Upper or lower limit violation of indicator value.
HEALTH MONITORING – AXIAL BEARING:
FAILURE MODES
Rotor Faults Axial
INDICATORS Change in Vibration Coil Saturation
Current X H
Position – X
Temperature – H
LIKELIHOOD (%) 100 100
Table 6-1 Axial Bearing Monitoring Matrix
Table 6-1 above summarizes the relation between the indicators and the failure modes
for the axial bearing. To understand how they work, let us consider the case of coil
saturation. While the term is coil saturation, in reality it is the power amplifier that
saturates which can be due to high dynamic work, caused mainly due to high level
harmonics on the rotor, which drives the power amplifier to consume large amount of
power. In other words, high force demand at high frequency is a major cause for power
amplifier saturation. When that happens, the coils are receiving a larger current from
the controller. If this operation continues for a long period of time, the resistance in the
coil material will cause an increase in the coil temperature. By setting limits on all of
these three parameters, the coil saturation failure mode can be detected. In addition,
there are times when real power amplifier temperature data is available which helps
provide a better picture of the power amplifier health. While the coils do not saturate,
they can deteriorate either by breaking down of insulation or damaged coils which
usually leads to a trip.
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HEALTH MONITORING – RADIAL BEARING:
FAILURE MODES
Rotor Faults Radial
INDICATORS Rotor Deformation Change in Vibration Coil Saturation
Current X X H
Position X – X
Unbalance – H –
Temperature – – H
LIKELIHOOD (%) 75 100 100
Table 6-2 Radial Bearing Monitoring Matrix
Table 6-2 above summarizes the relation between the indicators and the failure modes
for the radial bearing. This matrix like the one in Table 6-1 operates in the same way.
The likelihood row in the tables 6-1 and 6-2 above, gives an indication of the probability
of that fault being the reason for the specific pattern of indicator values varying from
that during normal operation. These values have been assigned keeping the historical
failure events in mind.
RULES: V1
V1
W1 V1
W3 W1
V3
W3 V3
(a) (b)
Figure 6-1 Electromagnet configuration along rotor axis
In the case of four electromagnets forming a bearing, there are two configurations that
are generally used and they are shown in figure 6-1. The configuration (a) is more
widely used in practical applications as it has certain advantages over configuration (b).
In case of (b), the entire weight of the rotor is handled by two electromagnets and
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thereby demanding more force from the top bearing. If there is no disturbance, the
electromagnets at W1 and W3 would have no role to play and the electromagnet at V1
will be requiring a much higher current supply to produce the force to levitate and
counter the force by the electromagnet at V3. In case (a), the entire rotor weight is
handled by all four electromagnets and thereby giving a more balanced behavior along
the vertical axis. For case (a) the top two bearing current for electromagnets at V1 and
W1 would be expected to be same in case of no disturbance and same goes for
electromagnets at V3 and W3.
V1 V2
W3 W1 W4 W2
V3
V4
(a) (b)
Figure 6-2 Electromagnet configuration 1 along rotor ends
Let us assume that two active magnetic bearings support a rotor at two ends in the
configuration as shown in figure 6-2. Then, figure (a) above represents the bearing at
the left end of the rotor and figure (b) the bearing on the right end. In normal operation,
we would expect that the current used by the top electromagnet of both bearings would
be the same i.e., the electromagnet at V1 would produce the same force as the
electromagnet at V2. Similarly, the electromagnet at V3 would produce the same force
as the electromagnet at V4. Using this logic, it is very convenient to check the centering
of the rotor during levitation before the rotor starts rotating.
In addition, during operation, by comparing the current consumed by an electromagnet

at one end with the corresponding position electromagnet at the other end i.e., V1 and
V2 for example, it can be checked if any unexpected load is acting on the rotor or if in
operation, the rotor property has been changed enough to cause misalignment.
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V1 V2
W1 W2
W3 V3 W4 V4
(a) (b)
Figure 6-3 Electromagnet configuration 2 along rotor ends

Figure 6-3 above represents a rotor supported by active magnetic bearings at both ends
but with the electromagnets in a different configuration than the one shown in figure 6-
2. In such a case, the top two electromagnets have an approximate angle of around 45
degrees with the vertical. For such a configuration of electromagnets around the rotor,
the rule used earlier can be modified. For individual case (a) or (b), by calculating the
difference in current for each top electromagnet or by simply comparing them with each
other, creeping imbalance can be captured. If one of the top coils, pulls the rotor much
more than the other top coil, i.e., absolute of (V1-W1) or absolute of (V2-W2) > 0, then
the centre of rotation of the rotor shifts and is in a disturbed state. Similarly, by
comparing the average current of the top coils for the bearings at two ends (a) and (b),
the misalignment being induced can be captured.
It is to be noted that the concept of these rules were introduced and are courtesy of
MAN Turbo.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING:
While the previous matrices as shown in Table 6-1 and 6-2 focused on AMB components
alone, the matrix shown below in Table 6-3 incorporates the machine it is supporting
and monitors its performance indicators as well. In this case, a centrifugal compressor is
being supported by the magnetic bearings. The table below thus helps in the
identification of failures through its effect on the performance indicators.
Some of the failure modes that affect the performance in case of a centrifugal
compressor are generally fouling, corrosion, impeller damage and surge phenomena
which translate to deviation in head, efficiency and temperature.
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FAILURE MODES
Loss of Performance
INDICATORS Fouling Corrosion Impeller Surge

Damage
Performance / Head Deviation H – H H
Process Efficiency Deviation H H H H
Indicators Outlet Temp. Deviation H – H H
Polytropic Efficiency X L X X
LIKELIHOOD (%) 100 100 100 75
Seal Indicators Seal-gas Pressure DE X – X X
Vent pressure DE X – X X
Seal-gas Temperature H – H H
Seal-gas Pressure NDE X – X X
Temperature Seal NDE H – H H
LIKELIHOOD (%) 50 – 50 75
Radial AMB Current X X X X
Indicators Position X H X X
Unbalance H X H H
Temperature H H H H
LIKELIHOOD (%) 75 – 75 50
Axial AMB Current – – – X
Indicators Position – – – X
Temperature – – – –
LIKELIHOOD (%) – – – 100
Table 6-3 Compressor Performance Monitoring Matrix
It is to be noted that these matrices are designed keeping the common parameters for
various manufacturers in mind. Additional parameters such as vibration data help
differentiate, for example, fouling from impeller damage since the rotor rubs can be
clearly captured using vibration data plots. Therefore, the matrices developed in this
chapter are excellent tools for abnormal operation detection and to form initial
hypothesis for the deviation from normal operation.
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When using AMB systems to support centrifugal compressor trains driven by electric
motor, a typical setup consists of a two stage centrifugal compressor with an double end
electric motor as a driver, which is shown in Figure 6-4 below:
Electric Motor
1ST Stage Compressor
2ND Stage Compressor
Figure 5.3-4 Typical AMB arrangement for a 2 – Stage Compressor Machine
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7. MODEL DEVELOPMENT
7.1.PURPOSE OF THE MODEL

This thesis focuses on the health monitoring of machines based on the data coming in
from sites. While this forms the basis of modeling, it is to be noted that the idea here is
to make the AMB technology understandable to first time users and those interested to
experiment with it. For this exact purpose, the model in question needs to robust and
similar to actual machines in use and needs to display realistic simulation of
rotordynamics, electronic equipment and control logic. This section will explain the
model used from these three main perspectives considering them as the three
cornerstones for AMB system modeling.
7.2.METHOD SELECTION
With various modeling approaches available, it is necessary to select one that helps test
the test cases and also one that can be used as a base model to understand various
operational aspects of the AMBs as precisely as possible. This section researches the
various approaches at hand and why the final approach was chosen.
7.2.1. Rotordynamics
Rotordynamics forms one of the three main study areas for modeling purposes. As
mentioned in Chapter 5, AMB systems are not simple replacement of oil bearing
systems and need extensive rotordynamic review and analysis. Since this thesis does
not cover that level of research, the model used is a proven test setup chosen from other
research ventures towards an AMB supported and controlled rotor model front [11].
Softwares such as ANSYS, RotorLab+ by the Rotating Machinery and Control (ROMAC)
Laboratory of University of Virginia and MATLAB/SIMULINK were mainly used to
develop a rotor system supported on active magnetic bearings. In addition, a freeware
Finite Element Method Magnetics (FEMM) was looked at which modeled the magnetic
bearing forces in terms of flux lines. However, prioritizing the flexibility to experiment,
MATLAB/SIMULINK was the best option available.
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Therefore, the most convenient way to include the rotordynamic properties in
MATLAB/SIMULINK is by modeling the rotor and the bearing properties using state
space matrices [6], [7], [10], [11].
The final system modeled is a rigid system suspended in active magnetic bearings
whose state space matrices in bearing coordinates are derived from the second order
system equations.
7.2.2. Electronic System

An active magnetic bearing system consists mainly of an electromagnet that produces
the force to levitate and control the rotor. But in addition to the electromagnet, it also
houses several electronic systems and sub-systems that lie between the electromagnet
and the controller, modifying the signals and providing feedback. In the model
developed, the magnetic bearing system is modeled using the various components in a
typical system i.e., Digital to Analog Converters (DAC), Switching Power Amplifiers,
Magnetic Actuators / Electromagnets with Pulse Width Modulators (PWM), Analog to
Digital Converters (ADC), Digital Signal Processor, Current sensors and Position sensors.
While complicating the model, by accurately modeling these systems, a realistic AMB
system can be achieved.
7.2.3. Control Logic

From the control logic perspective, there are various control approaches that can be
used as discussed in Chapter 4. Based on the various control approaches available, the
ADR scheme seems to provide good results in their independent study [10]. However,
with changing system conditions, a robust controller like a PI feedback controller in
conjunction with an adaptive controller to control rotordynamic excitations is
considered to be a more viable option [11].
7.3.DEVELOPMENT & VALIDATION

Validation of the developed model was one of the major challenges faced during this
thesis. While the design and operating principles were available in several publications,
they varied in many ways. The best way forward was to follow each approach, model
the system as described and validate it against the results provided in the publication.
In addition, the model needed to have sufficient flexibility to test various cases and
provide results in the format desired.
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The final model developed is the same as one developed by Peter Wurmsdobler for his
Ph.D dissertation titled “State Space Adaptive Control for a Rigid Rotor Suspended in
Active Magnetic Bearings“ [11]. The model developed is a detailed nonlinear model of
the system with the electronics modeled individually. This model is used as a test bed to
test the cases in order to understand the system dynamics and be able to monitor its
health. The initial hypothesis as developed in Chapter 6 will be tested using this model
and deployed on the AMB levitated machines employed in industrial applications.
Figure 7.1 below, shows the bearing configuration as set for the model. While the
comparison and disadvantage in regard to this configuration was discussed in the
previous chapter, for the simplicity in modeling, this setup is followed through with.
Figure 7.3-1 Single bearing electromagnet configuration [11]
In the above figure,
U Voltage input
I Current
F Force generated
l Gap between the electromagnet and the rotor
α Angle between pole shoes
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Figure 7.3-2 Rigid rotor model schematics [11]
The rotor dimensions of the model are as given below:
l0 Nominal air-gap 0.5*10-3 m

Rotor mass 28.768 kg
Axial mass moment of inertia 0.8632 kgm2
Polar mass moment of inertia 0.02188 kgm2
a Distance to bearing A 0.23877 m
b Distance to bearing B –0.24123 m
c Distance to sensor A 0.18977 m
d Distance to sensor B –0.19233 m
n Distance to plane N’ –0.1 m
kn Non-conservative cross coupling stiffness 0–107 N/m
Ω Rotor speed 20,000 rpm
Table 7-1 Rotor Dimensions [11]
The derivation of the model for the above rotor schematic in terms of state space
matrices in bearing coordinates is from the state space matrices in centre of gravity (G
in Figure 7.3-2) coordinates is as follows:
The dynamics of the rigid rotor is modeled using a second order differential equation of
motion,
( + ) + + +
Where, is the bearing coordinate matrix and given by,
* + ,+ - ,- ./
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Here, is the actuator force and is given by,
* 01 21 03 23 .
/
Where, a linearized actuator model as discussed in Chapter 3,
0 − 4 + 0
2 − 5 , + 2
Here,
* 0 2 . is the control current in x and y direction,
is the Current gain constant for an AMB system, and
is the position stiffness constant for an AMB system.
And is the disturbance force acting on the rotor system.
is the load acting on the bearings in downwards direction due to the weight of the
rotor and is given by,

*0 −7 0 6 ./
6−7
The rotor mass matrix is arranged as,
0 0 0
0 0 0
9 :
0 0 0
0 0 0
The rotor gyroscopic matrix,
0 0 0
= @
0 0 0 0
< ?
<− 0 0 0 ?
; 0 0 0 0 >
Transformation matrix to transform the model from centre of gravity coordinates to

bearing coordinates,
6 1 0 0
0 0 6 1
9 :
7 1 0 0
0 0 7 1
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Transformation matrix to transform the model in to sensor coordinates,
B 1 0 0
0 0 B 1
9 :
C 1 0 0
0 0 C 1
The non-conservative cross-coupling stiffness transformation matrix is given by,
E 1 0 0
D F
0 0 E 1
And the self-exciting non-conservative cross-coupling stiffness matrix is given by,
0 H
G I
−H 0
Then for bearing coordinates, we have the system matrices as,
J/
J
J/
J
J/
/
J
is the sensor coordinate matrix and given by,
* 1
,1 3
, 3 ./
It is related to the bearing coordinate matrix as,
The control logic used is a recursive prediction error method used to identify the state
space model under on-line conditions and its adaptive control. An AMB system being
open loop unstable requires the design of a controller and an observer which are
designed in advance using deterministic approach. Further details on the
implementation of this approach can be found in Reference [11].
Analyzing the rotor in terms of rotordynamics, the Campbell diagram for the rigid rotor
is given in Figure 7.3-3 below.
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Figure 7.3-3 Campbell Diagram for the Rigid Rotor
In the above diagram, the dotted line represents the 1X excitation. The first critical
speed is at approximately 35 Hz and has a value of 2117 rpm. The second and third
critical speeds for this rigid rotor model are 12069 and 12379 rpm at a natural
frequency of approximately 200 Hz.
7.4.MODEL RESULTS FORMATS

In addition to normal position vs. time, current vs. time and other parameter graphs,
orbit plots are used to represent the rotor position change. Orbit plots are extensively
used in hydrodynamic bearings and therefore the same graphical ideology is being used
here to observe position changes in a different manner. The size of the orbits also tells
us if the auxiliary bearings have been active which is in case of extreme shift in rotor
position [7]. As specified in Chapter 5, the auxiliary bearings need to be replaced after a
certain number of hard contact with the rotor due to deformation.
These rules are created to capture the creeping faults as discussed in Chapter 6, helping
in diagnostics and prediction. In summary, these rules act as a filter, analysing the
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incoming data and evaluate the existence of possible faults in the system. This gives us a
good overview of the health and performance of the AMBs and the supported machine.
7.5.MODEL SUMMARY
The model primarily involves a simple rotor on magnetic bearing, and the model is
tested for various configurations. Starting from a well balanced and stable bearing
system, the model parameters are varied to simulate certain fault cases and controller
capabilities. The rotor is suspended using two radial active magnetic bearings and no
axial bearings have been designed for this model. The model is run at a fixed speed of
20000 rpm in all the test cases. Specific details on the rotor dimensions and radial AMB
positioning are explained earlier in this chapter with Figure 7.3-2 and Table 7-1.
Radial AMB specific details are provided in Table 7-2 below.
0 Permeability in vacuum 4 π * 10-7 Vs/Am

rs Relative permeability of stator material 2000 –
rr Relative permeability of rotor material 1000 –
ls Length of magnetic path in stator 84 * 10-3 m
lr Length of magnetic path in rotor 20 * 10-3 m
As Cross section area of magnetic path in stator 700 * 10-6 m2
Ar Cross section area of magnetic path in rotor 420 * 10-6 m2
Al Cross section area of magnetic path in air 700 * 10-6 m2
Bmaxs Maximum induction of stator material 1.3 T
Bmaxr Maximum induction of rotor material 1.95 T
α Angle between pole shoes π/4 rad
r Ohmic resistance in coil 0.8 Ω
N Number of coil windings (2 pole shoes) 130 –
i0 Bias current 4 A
L0 Nominal inductivity 0.01325 H
R0 Nominal reluctance 1.22 * 106 A/Vs
Table 7-1 AMB Details [11]
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8. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
The test cases are aimed at giving the reader an understanding of the AMBs operation
and control capability when experiencing testing/failure conditions. The average time
period for each case is 0.1 seconds. While this duration seems quite short, the reader is
advised to observe the fast dynamics of the system in such a short duration. Please note
that the idea is to capture slow modes of failures that build up over time but to give a
flavor of failure modes, the fast failure modes are discussed below.
8.1.CASE 1 – NORMAL OPERATION

The first case represents normal operation i.e., only the weight and rotation effects of
the rigid rotor is considered. Since the dimension of the rotor is quite small and the
model is rigid in nature, the variation in rotation speed has little effect on the dynamics.
But it is to be noted that with complicated rotor geometry, and for a flexible rotor
model, the change in speed will have a considerable effect on the dynamics. In this case,
the orbit plot, position and the current data have been plotted against time and are
shown in Figure 8.1-1 and Figure 8.1-2 below. These data are considered normal
operation values. In the following cases, a comparison will give us a better
understanding.
Figure 8.1-1 Case 1 – Rotor Orbit
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Figure 8.1-2 Case 1 – Data Plots
8.2. MONITORING & DETECTION

By observing the values of current and position data for Case 1, which is normal
operating case, limits can be set such that any deviation from normal operation can be
captured. As mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, the objective is to capture slow
failure modes and act on correcting it before it escalates to a severe event. The fast
failure modes for a system with fast dynamics have to rely on the safeguarding
measures implemented on the machines by the OEMs.
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Based on the normal operating case i.e., Case 1, the limits set for the parameters are
given in Table 8-1 below:
LIMIT TYPE
INDICATOR Lower – Lower Lower Upper Upper – Upper
Top Current 3.5 4.25 5.25 6
Bottom Current 2 2.75 3.75 4.5
Side Currents 3 3.5 4.5 5
Position Y-Y -100 -50 50 100
Position X-X -100 -50 50 100
Table 8-1 Limit Setting for Monitoring Purpose
When an indicator’s value crosses the Upper or Lower limits, the deviation from normal
operation is detected and more priority is given to investigate the reason and its
severity. The violation of Upper – Upper or Lower – Lower limit puts the system on
higher priority to avoid any serious incident. The limits are usually set narrower than
the safeguarding alarm and trip limits on the machines. The reason for this is to detect
abnormal operation that might lead to failure rather than to just focus on resolving
failure threats in the last minute.
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Figure 8.2-1 Case 1 – Limit Applied Data Plots
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Figure 8.2-1 shows the various data signals of Case 1 i.e., normal operation of the rotor
which is rotor weight and rotation, with the limits from Table 8-1 applied to it. The
‘Yellow’ lines represent the Upper and Lower limits. Since the limits are set based on
Case 1, the indicator values lie within the upper and lower limits and therefore there are
no violations. But for all the other cases, the faults are captured using the limits from
Table 8-1 in one of the categories, showcasing the severity of an approaching fault.
8.3.CASE 2 – CHANGE IN SET POINT WITH PI CONTROLLER

The importance of this case comes to light when in real-time application; the
deformation of the rotor or specific coil saturation on both bearings causes it to lose its
alignment. To simulate this case, we are moving the set point for the controller from
0*10E-6 m to 100*10E-6 m. Additionally, if the rotor at a bearing is continuously
rotating at a certain orbit, within limits, away from the set point of 0*10E-6 m, by tuning
the controller to continuously change the set point with the speed of translation, the
rotor is allowed to move in that orbit without using excessive current trying to control
the rotor at 0*10E-6 m. This is a temporary measure to maintain normal operation till
the rotor imbalance grows too large and needs to be replaced.
In Figure 8.3-1 and 8.3-2, the ‘Yellow’ lines represent the Upper and Lower sets of limits
again while the ‘White’ lines represent the Upper – Upper and Lower – Lower sets of
limits. In this case, the position signals violate both the limits while the current signals
violate only one limit before the system stabilizes again.
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The change of position of the rotor from set point 0*10E-6 m to 100*10E-6 m in the
model happens in approximately 0.02 seconds. The transition is smooth and the settling
down time is almost non-existent. The current data follows this trend by smoothly
shifting to its new values. The controller used here is PI controller only.
It can be observed from Figure 8.3-2 that change in set point due to fault in the system
can be easily caught using the limits set earlier in Section 8.2. The operation is then
monitored till the amplitude grows large enough to reschedule maintenance and fix the
system or operate till the scheduled maintenance whichever is earlier.
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8.4.CASE 3 – CHANGE IN SET POINT WITH ADAPTIVE CONTROLLER
In this case, the controlling ability is not as smooth as that in Case 2 where a PI
controller alone was used. While it might not be evident from the position plots, the
current data, as shown in Figure 8.4-2 below, paints a good picture of the effort in
changing set points. It is observed that the adaptive controller is much more suited to
handle disturbances resulting due to the inclusion of non-conservative stiffness in the
dynamics which will be showcased in Case 6 and 7.
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8.5.CASE 4 – APPLICATION OF 100 N LOAD IN X DIRECTION

A load of 100 N is applied in the X direction of the bearing and using the PI controller,
the load handling capacity of the bearing is tested.
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The maximum amplitude for the 100 N load is controlled at around 65*E-6 m before the
position is brought back to normal range. This is possible by increasing the current
required to withstand the 100 N while bringing the rotor back to the 0*10E-6 set point.
Sudden changes in process or operating conditions could act as additional load on the
rotor and in turn the bearings. If the force lies within the limit for which the bearing is
designed for, then the bearing has the capacity to increase the current to the coils and
bring it back to the desired set point.
The current plots in Figure 8.5-2 iX1 and iX2 for both, bearings A and B, showcases the
variation of current from the base value of 4 Amps. In addition, this deviation violates
the limits on position momentarily and current continuously. By running the various
signals through the matrix designed in Chapter 6, the fault can be identified and
measures can be taken to avoid any failures.
On testing, it has been seen that when a 200 N load is acting on the rotor, the
displacement is larger but the bearings easily brings the rotor back to its set point.
However, as in this case, current input deviates from the base value to keep the rotor at
the set point even when a larger load is acting. As expected, with a larger load, the
deviation of current is larger as well. Since it is similar to the current case, it is not being
shown here.
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8.6. CASE 5 – APPLICATION OF 330 N LOAD IN X DIRECTION

For this case, the maximum load controllable by the PI controller has been crossed. The
load applied here is 330 N in the X direction for both the bearings. It can be seen that
the current supplied to the coil is at the maximum limit and the controller is unable to
bring the dynamics under control.
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Figure 8.6-1 and 8.6-2 demonstrates the effect of larger load acting on the bearings than
what they were designed for. From the current plots in Figure 8.6-2, it can be seen that
the current supply has saturated at the maximum value. Because of this, the coils are
unable to produce a larger force to control the rotor’s displacement within the
maximum displacement limit of 250*10E-6 m.
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8.7. CASE 6 – NON-CONSERVATIVE CROSS COUPLING STIFFNESS WITH PI
CONTROLLER ONLY
When we model the cross-coupling stiffness into the system, we observe additional
disturbance in the dynamics even without any additional load acting on it. In this case,
this disturbance is attempted to be controlled using a PI controller. The cross coupling
stiffness is modeled by inducing an excitation of value 6*10E6 N/m in the system.
Aerodynamic cross-coupling forces in industrial machines are a result of fluid structure

interactions produced by flow differences in clearance. The sub-synchronous, non-
conservative and self exciting nature of these forces create potentially unstable rotor
vibrations, which can lead to severe damage without sufficient damping [17].
While the rotor only crosses the first limit set at the location of bearing A, the rotor
displacement at bearing B location has far exceeded the second limit imposed on the
rotor position and reaches the maximum allowed displacement. The PI controller is
unable to handle this level of excitation of the rotor at bearing B and the rotor hits the
auxiliary bearings. The dynamics of this fault is very fast and the PI controller is not
designed to react fast enough and increase the current at a larger rate to control this
displacement.
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8.8. CASE 7 – NON-CONSERVATIVE CROSS COUPLING STIFFNESS WITH PI +
ADAPTIVE CONTROLLER
In this case, the state space adaptive control is activated along with the PI controller for
the same value of excitation i.e., 6*10E6 N/m. However in this case, it is clearly observed
that they effectively control the disturbance by keeping the maximum deviation at
bearing B below 40*10E6 m.
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The rotor orbit shape observed in Figure 8.8-1 is called a limaçon. Like in Case 6, the
rotor tends to get excited but the adaptive controller in this case after the initial effects
of excitation, brings the system parameter back to its original values.
The adaptive control tunes the non-symmetric terms in the controller matrix to produce
a force which counteracts the non-conservative forces in the system. This adaptation of
the controller helps the rotor system to recover from a destabilizing effect.
While it should be noted that the controller may vary from system to system and the
controlling ability entirely is a function of the control algorithms used, this model
utilizes the state space adaptive control with an integrative feedback loop allowing it to
stabilize excitation caused by non-conservative forces as a result of cross-coupling
stiffness. In cases where the effects of cross-coupling stiffness are neglected, a simple PI
controller is sufficient.
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8.9. CASE 8 – INCREASED SYSTEM DISTURBANCE
For this case, a continuous random disturbance is applied to the system. This
disturbance just begins to violate the first set of limits imposed on the system. This is an
example to showcase long term monitoring ideology. When the disturbance in the
system keeps increasing till it starts violating the first set of limits, the system is put on
priority and the behavior of the system is observed from it was operating normally. The
various parameters of the system are then fed into the matrix shown in Chapter 6 and
the possible faults and their probability is taken into account.
The site operators and the manufacturers are then contacted with the list of possible
fault and its probability. Based on the next scheduled date of maintenance, the severity
of the issue is evaluated. If the rate of increase of disturbance is high, then the
maintenance schedule needs to be rescheduled to a suitable date when the machine can
be serviced and the fault fixed.
With long term monitoring and early detection of failure modes, the maintenance
schedule can be optimized in addition to be focused at resolving particular issues. This
also avoids unexpected trips and operational losses.
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It is to be noted that the limits set are still much lower than the “alarm” or first set of
limits (Yellow lines) and “trip” or second set of limits (White lines) of the machine set by
the manufacturers and site operators allowing ample time before the symptoms become
severe enough to result in damage or stopping operation.
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9. CONCLUSION &
RECOMMENDATIONS
AMBs have been in operation for years and have evolved past the experimental
technology tagline. They have been demonstrated, found workable and have become a
serious feature for the industry to consider. As the AMB system receives more
acceptance and the numbers of applications increase, so do the operating experience
and advancements. Their advantage over conventional bearings can be realized
provided it can be tuned appropriately for the application.
With AMB applications extending from subsea compressors [18], to aircraft engines
[19], [20], the ability to be able to monitor both the AMB and rotating machinery health
and performance becomes quite advantageous. It not only helps in avoiding incidents
but also optimizing maintenance schedule resulting in lower downtime.
The ideal solution is to use existing system components to monitor the health of these
machines and this has been possible with the advancement in the electronics and
computer technologies. It is seen that the current active magnetic bearings are making
use of this advancement in relaying shaft position and other crucial data to remote
monitoring locations [8].
This graduation thesis addresses this advantage and aims at monitoring the health and
performance of rotating machines equipped with an AMB system. The core of this
project is to establish relations between the active magnetic bearing data and the
parameters required to assess the health of the machines.
The various techniques mentioned in the paper are from a research and development
perspective focusing towards operational aspect of machines with AMBs. A monitoring
matrix and a model of rigid rotor on radial AMBs are developed to test the relations
hypothesized. The matrix is deployed on actual machines to validate them for prediction
and diagnosis. The developed is focused at providing a good understanding of AMB
design and operation [10], [21], [22]. The model developed is in MATLAB/Simulink and
allows the user to understand the operation of a rigid rotor suspended using AMBs from
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a rotordynamic point of view with the help of orbits and other relevant graphs [4]. In
addition, the model can be modified to simulate various simulations which were not
included in this study. The matrix on the other hand will act as an initial detection and
diagnostic tool which will continuously monitor the real time machine performance and
health by identifying any changes. The cases discussed in the results chapter are
designed to showcase the change in signal values. Since the emphasis in this thesis is on
slow failure modes, it would be ideal to simulate and discuss such cases in the results
section. However, to give a better picture of the AMB dynamics and speed, fast failure
mode cases have been simulated and discussed instead. For such fast dynamic failures,
the OEM has measures in place. The purpose of this thesis is to capture operational
deviation and detect slow mode failure which makes this work a step forward in
realizing higher availability and lower downtime on AMB supported rotor systems.
Being able to monitor the health and performance through AMB systems is just the tip
of the iceberg in AMB technology, as it is a topic of active research in several areas
which changes the status of AMBs from an experimental replacement of oil bearings to a
safeguarding system. One such example is the use of AMB systems to control
compressor surge and in turn improving the safe operation of AMB supported
compressors [7].
The work in this report can be further improved upon in many ways and they are listed
as below:
1. To start with, a flexible rotor model analysis would provide more realistic
information and is of interest.
2. An AMB system is made up of several components and is susceptible to their
different governing approaches. Further study can be carried out to improve
individual operation of any of these systems and to study its effect on the overall
operation.
3. From a monitoring perspective, algorithms can be designed and applied to
monitor and capture performance deviation of individual components and link
them to component failure modes and rotor operation.
4. AMB systems are known to reflect changes in system parameters like fluid
density in the axial bearing current. While this was observed, it still requires
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more focused evaluation and validation. An extensive study of such behavior will
better equip the health monitoring ability of the AMB systems.
5. This project was initially aimed at developing a realistic model of an industrial
machine. Due to lack of information on the dimensions, materials used and
control system details which are usually proprietary information; it could not be
carried out. By developing an industrial machine model, various test cases can be
simulated and studied allowing for better understanding of operation and fault
cases.
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10. AMBs & AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
AMB technology with its unique offerings is revolutionizing industries where high speed
rotation applications rely heavily on bearing systems. Having being proven as a stable
technology in industries such as oil & gas, machining etc, the focus turns to Aerospace
industry.
The aerospace industry utilizes bearing systems in its engines to support the rotating
spindle. With successful research into high temperature applications for AMBs, aircraft
engine application does not seem a distant dream. In fact, manufacturers like MTU Aero
Engines are already researching on the possibility [19].
There are several main aspects that question the ability of AMBs from become a
practical alternative in the aircraft industry. The first aspect is the ability of the AMBs to
be able to cope with additional disturbance pertaining to aircraft engines. Normally,
AMBs operate on stable bases i.e., base motion is usually zero other than when
seismically induced. With aircrafts, there is continuous base motion and changing base
angles that result in additional load acting on rotor due to inertia effects. The second
aspect will be to realize the advantages that the AMB systems offer over conventional
bearings currently employed in the engines.
In addition to these, the capability of AMBs to operate in high temperature applications

and varying operating conditions would be quite the challenge. In theory, the varying
operating condition and contamination can be avoided by using canned magnetic
bearings as currently used in subsea applications.
Finally, but the most important of all would be the change in weight. Aircrafts are
weight sensitive and introduction of any new technology will need to be equivalent in
weight to the equipments it replaces if not lesser. Therefore, the success of AMB as a
technology in aircraft industry is greatly influenced by how it influences the weight in
the engines.
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