HTS Magnetic Bearings in Prototype Application

Abstract

ATZ Company has successfully developed high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic bearings for power energy application and high-speed machinery. Journal-type design and improved HTS magnetic properties increasingly fulfill industrial prototype requirements. Maximum load up to 1.1 ton, stiffnesses in 3-4 kN/mm level, simultaneous self-stabilization in axial and radial directions, largegap operation of 5-6 mm and reliable machine cooling in the 50-60 K region characterize the present progress of HTS magnetic bearings. A 200 mm HTS bearing of 10 kN load capacity is fabricated and integrated in a 5 kWh/250 kW flywheel energy storage system. We report about a new large-gap HTS magnetic coupling system ensuring 300 mm wafer treatment inside a closed processing chamber in semiconductor industry. A linear MAGLEV transport system consisting of four modular cryostat units have been recently fabricated in a prototyping process. The four HTS cryostats can carry almost 1 ton at 10 mm magnetic gap above a magnetic guideway with a force density of about 5 N/cm2. Due to perfect thermal insulation each cryostat operates more than 24 hours without refilling LN2.