Suitability investigation of a bearingless disk drive for micro turbine applications

Due to several special characteristics of magnetic suspension, bearingless drives may be suitable for turbine application. These characteristics range from operability without lubrication, the absence of mechanical friction and of sliding seals to variable stiffness and damping, inherent bearing diagnostics function, low maintenance and long life time. However, there are several drawbacks which might be critical to turbine operation. Using a bearingless disk drive prototype, experiments with a turbine and compressor wheel at high rotational speeds shall provide conclusive information about the rotor behavior over the entire speed range. The results will show if, and under which assumptions, the use of bearingless disk drives for micro turbine applications seems feasible.