Development of a highly efficient hard disk drive spindle motor with a passive magnetic thrust bearing and a hydrodynamic journal bearing

Abstract

This article presents a highly efficient hard disk drive (HDD) spindle motor with a passive magnetic thrust bearing and a hydrodynamic journal bearing. It eliminates the mechanical friction loss of a thrust bearing which is around 14% of total power consumption of a 3.5 in. HDD spindle motor, by replacing a conventional hydrodynamic thrust bearing with a passive magnetic thrust bearing. The passive magnetic thrust bearing using permanent magnets is inherently unstable in radial direction. However, the radial hydrodynamic force of the hydrodynamic journal bearing counterbalances the radial magnetic force of magnetic thrust bearing to achieve the stability as the motor spins up. Numerical analysis is performed to verify feasibility of the proposed system.