Controller parameterization and bias current reduction of active magnetic bearings for a flexible and gyroscopic spindle

A magnetically levitated spindle was designed for fatigue testing of cylinders made of fiber reinforced plastic. In these fatigue tests, the speed of the cylinders is varied cyclically between 15,000 and 30,000 rpm until their mechanical failure occurs. Several eigenfrequencies have to be passed to reach the operational speed range. During long‐term operation, the rotor of the spindle is prone to overheating due to various losses. One way of reducing the rotor temperature is to decrease the bias current of the radial active magnetic bearings. Since the bias current influences the dynamic behavior of the system, the control of the bearings has to be adapted as well. This article describes a controller design for the system with different bias currents to determine the smallest usable bias current. A detailed model of the plant is developed, which is then used to optimize the parameters of the utilized controller with a predefined structure using the weighted ℋ∞ norm as the objective function. Since the rotor is highly gyroscopic, its eigenfrequencies change with the rotational speed. To ensure that the system meets certain robustness criteria at all rotational speeds, the parameters of the controller are simultaneously optimized for the plant model at different speeds. This approach leads to a controller which can be used in the entire speed range without the need for gain scheduling. The functionality of the controller and the influence of the bias current on the rotor temperature are investigated through measurements.