i SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL OF MAGNETIC BEARING SYSTEMS

ii This thesis presents investigations aimed at obtaining a system model for the stabilisation of an Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) System. Furthermore, the study reported here set out to design both conventional and advanced controllers based on the system model. This research report demonstrates that the literature on AMBs shows that AMBs are making their mark in the industry; they are increasingly being used in applications including jet engines, compressors, pumps and flywheel systems. In this study, it has also been observed that the basic design of AMBs is an arrangement of electromagnets placed equidistant in a ring round a rotor. The point of departure for this study is that AMBs are highly nonlinear and inherently unstable. Hence, the need for an automatic control to keep the system stabilized. The first step of the research was to determine the transfer function of the MBC 500 magnetic bearing system both analytically and experimentally. An analytical model ha