Abstract
A superconductor flywheel energy storage system (SFES) is an electro-mechanical battery which transforms electrical energy into mechanical energy for storage, and vice versa. Many aspects of the quasi-static behavior of flywheel rotors still need to be studied closely, and the rotors require a stable and highly efficient supporting system such as high temperature superconductor (HTS) bearings, which offer dynamic stability without the use of active control. Quasi-static properties of HTS bearings in the radial direction provide data to solve problems which may occur in a running system. Since stiffness in countering rotor vibration is the main parameter for designing an HTS bearing system, we investigated the quasi-static properties of the magnetic force between permanent magnets(PMs) and HTS bulks in the radial direction. We measured radial stiffness, and discovered that bearing stiffness varied greatly depending on the number of active HTS bulks. This is valuable data for predicting the change in stiffness during partial HTS bearing failure. The quasi-static test results are used for optimal design and performance prediction for the 100 kWh class superconductor bearing.