Abstract
In this paper we deal with the virtually zero power control for the rigid rotor with radial suspension by the permanent magnetic bearing and axial suspension by electromagnetic bearing. The purpose of the virtually zero power control is to reduce the power consumption of the electromagnetic bearings. The axial active force is expressed by the normal second order equation which has only one degree-of-freedom. The virtually zero power control structure has two schemes. One is the coil control current integrator which is used to make the convergence of the control current to a range which is very close to zero. By using the current integrator the DC component which is included in the control current is eliminated, thus the control current converges to a range which is close to zero. The other is normal PD control loop which is used to make the rotor reach to stable equilibrium point and to maintain air gap so that the axial force produced by radial permanent magnet always balances the total weight of the rotor and its load. First we show a simple mathematical plant model and the virtually zero power (VZP) control blocks. Second, we investigate the theoretical feasibility and the stability of the proposed virtually zero Power control levitation system with PD feedback loop by using linear control theory Finally we show the effectiveness of the proposed control method to reduce the power consumption by simulations.
