• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.2163-2166
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• 2004

For designing high Tc superconductor proceeding bearing(HTSJB) which is used on a flywheel energy storage system which requests the free of the bearing loss caused by the friction, it is necessary to understand the basic characteristics of the classical superconductor proceeding bearing because the mechanical characteristics of the HTSJB are identified by the magnetic relationships between the permanent magnet(PM) and the high Tc superconductor(HTS). In this paper, using the method, frozen image model, the force problems between the PM and the HTS were solved and then the dynamic characteristics of the rotor inside of the HTSJB can be expected in advance by using the basic characteristics between the PM and the HTS. The coefficient of friction of the HTSJB was measured in the vacuum environment. From the results, the mechanical characteristics of HTSJB can be identified using the numerical models.

• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Applied Superconductivity and Cryogenics Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.180-184
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• 2000

The dymanic properties of the high-Tc superconductor journal bearings used in the KEPRI flywheel energy storage system was experimentally estimated by using the imbalance excitation method. The test reveals that the superconductor bearings have very low stiffness compared to that of typical oil film bearings with similar geometry and almost the same amount of damping as in roller bearings, which may not be helpful for the system to pass through the critical speeds. However, it was found out that the cross-coupled stiffness and damping terms were almost negligible so that the system could be more stable than the one using lil film bearings. Also with proper design of the rotor-bearing system and accurate balancing of the rotor, the high-Tc superconductor bearing is one of the most viable alternatives to the conventional ones due to its oil-free, non-contact running capability in a vacuum environment, which is literally essential for highly efficient flywheel energy storage systems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.202-206
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• 1996

An experimental study of the characteristics of the repulsiveytype magnetic bearing using high Tc superconductor is presented. In field cooling superconductor has the position-stability due to a flux pinning effect and the strong damping due to hysterisis, while in zero field cooling it has the only strong repulsive force due to Meissner effect. Lift force in superconducting levitation has a hysterisis characteristics, and it is the dissipation of energy, the mechanism of damping. As the relative linear velocity between a magnet and a superconductor increases, the area of the hysterisis loop becomes smaller. It means the decrease of damping. In field cooling, the static stiffness is very nonlinear in smaller than initial gap, but almost linear in larger than initial gap.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.514-520
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• 2001

A 300Wh class flywheel energy storage system using high Tc superconductor bearings(HTC SFES) is being developed by KIMM and KEPRI. HTC SFES consists of a flywheel rotor, superconductor bearings, a motor/generator and its controller, touch-down bearings, vacuum chamber, etc. Stiffness and damping values of superconductor bearings were experimentally estimated to be 67,700N/m and 29Ns/m respectively. The present HTC SFES was designed to have maximum operating speed of 33000 rpm, which is far above 2 rigid body mode critical speeds of 645rpm and 1,275rpm. Leaf-spring type touch-down bearing were utilized to have the system pass safely through the system critical speeds. It has been experimentally verified that the system can run stably up to 28,000 rpm so that HTC SFES is now expected to reach up to its maximum design speed of 33,000rpm without any difficulties. The Halbach array motor & generator has also been proven its effectiveness on transferring electrical energy to a rotaing composite flywheel in kinetic form.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2000.06a
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• pp.1071-1077
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• 2000

Recently, several attempts have been made to apply high Tc superconductor bearings of thrust type to flywheel energy storage system (FESS) throughout the world. Radial type superconductor bearings, however, have never been tried to the real FESS. KEPRI has developed its own radial type bearings and is now currently applying them to a FESS designed by KIMM, for the first time. In this paper preliminary test results of bearing performance and dynamic behavior of the flywheel rotor system mounted on them are presented. The dynamic properties, i.e, stiffness and damping, of the superconductor bearings were experimentally estimated using the static loading test as well as the impact test. The test revealed that stiffness value of the present superconductor bearings is about 67,700N/m and the damping value 29Ns/m. It was also found out that these bearings have some levitation drift problems due to excessive vibrations encountered while passing through the critical speeds. With recommend backup bearings to limit the vibration amplitudes of the rotor it is predicted that the flywheel rotor will show stable operations in the design speed range.