A study on passive magnetic bearing with Halbach magnetized array

To improve the stiffness of permanent magnetic bearings with limited magnet material, a configuration of axial magnetic bearing with segmented Halbach array is proposed. Only radial and axial magnetization is needed, which is much easy to realize compared to ideal Halbach magnetization. Its suspension force and stiffness are studied using FEM, and some optimization is also made. The simulation results show that this kind of axial magnetic bearing with a set of given parameters has a maximal stiffness as high as 2times10⁶ N/m. Having a more complex structure compared to magnetic bearing with only entire magnet bulk, this magnetic bearing is more appropriate to the application that has a high demand for stiffness and a strict volume constraint.