Hybrid-type magnetic bearings using both permanent magnets and electromagnets have been used for rotating machinery. In the case of conventional thrust hybrid magnetic bearings supporting axial loads, radially magnetized permanent ring magnets, which have several demerits such as difficult magnetization and assembly, have been used to generate bias flux. In this study, a novel thrust hybrid magnetic bearing using an axially magnetized permanent ring magnet is presented. Because it is easy to magnetize a ring magnet in the axial direction, the segmentation of the ring magnet for magnetization is not required and the assembly process can be simplified. For verifying the performance of the proposed method, a test rig that consists of a proposed thrust magnetic bearing and variable loads is constructed. This paper presents the detailed design procedures and the obtained experimental results. The results show that the developed thrust magnetic bearing has the potential to replace conventional thrust magnetic bearings.

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