Numerical Analysis and Preliminary Experimental Validation of a Heteropolar Electrodynamic Bearing

In this paper we describe the numerical simulations of a Heteropolar Electrodynamic Bearing and compare them with some experimental data taken on a prototype in quasi-static state. The device is composed of a cylindrical permanent magnet rotor and six coils fixed onto the stator. The system has been simulated by means of a dedicated numerical code (“EN4EM” - Electric Network for Electromagnetics), previously developed for research purposes. The software is based on a 3D integral formulation and it is able to numerically simulate coupled multi-degree of freedom electro/mechanical problems. The comparison between computed and measured data are fully satisfactory.