Active magnetic bearings (AMBs) have led to great progress in the field of rotating machinery due to their many advantages, such as their non-contact and non-lubrication properties. As the key component of an AMB actuator, the switching power amplifier has an important impact on the performance of magnetic bearings and rotating machinery. In this paper, the topologies of switching power amplifiers for AMBs are introduced. The traditional half-bridge topology and two newly proposed topologies—the three-phase-half-bridge and neutralized-sharing-bridge topology—are analyzed and discussed. The volume, current output performance and cost of the power amplifier with different topologies are comprehensively evaluated, providing a theoretical basis and guidance for the selection and design of the topology of switching power amplifiers for AMBs under different conditions.

Temperature rise is an important factor limiting the development of magnetic suspension support technology. Traditional temperature sensors such as thermocouples are complicated and vulnerable to electromagnetic interference due to their point contact temperature measurement methods. In this paper, the equivalent model of magnetic suspension support is established, and the temperature field is simulated and analyzed by magnetic thermal coupling calculation in ANSYS software. Then, a quasi-distributed temperature measurement system is designed, and the FBG temperature sensor is introduced to measure the temperature of the magnetic suspension support system by “one-line and multi-point”. By comparing the analysis experiments and simulations, the equivalent accuracy of the simulation model and the FBG temperature sensor can accurately measure the temperature of the magnetic suspension support.

For a blood pump, the blood flow channel and impeller parameters directly affect the performance of the pump and the resulting blood circulation. The flow channel in particular has a great impact on the hydraulic performance of the pump (e.g., flow and pressure), which directly determines the overall performance of the blood pump. Traditional bearing-supported blood pumps can cause mechanical damage to blood cells, leading to hemolysis and thrombosis. In this study, therefore, we designed a conical spiral axial blood pump with magnetic levitation. The blood pump was supported by electrodynamic bearings in the radial direction and electromagnetic bearings in the axial direction. The impeller and the front and rear hubs were integrated to minimize blood stagnation and reduce the formation of thrombosis. The hub had a conical spiral flow channel design, which not only reduced the size of the impeller but also increased blood flow and pressure while meeting the design requirements. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was used to analyze the flow field of the axial blood pump, a power function model was used to establish a hemolysis prediction model, and the particle tracking method was used to obtain the flow trajectories of individual blood cells, thereby predicting hemolysis-related performance of the blood pump. The simulation results showed that the main high shear stress area in the blood pump was located in the impeller inlet and the clearance between the top of the impeller and the inner chamber of the blood pump. When the hub taper angle of the blood pump was 0.72° and the clearance was 0.3 mm, the average hemolysis prediction value was 0.00216. This prediction value was smaller than that of traditional axial blood pumps. These findings can provide an important reference for the structural design of axial blood pumps and for reducing the hemolysis prediction value.

A switching power amplifier is a key component of the actuator of an active magnetic bearing, and its reliability has an important impact on the performance of a magnetic bearing system. This paper analyzes the topologies of a switching power amplifier of an active magnetic bearing. In the case of different coil pair arrangements and bias current distributions, comprehensive evaluation of the different topologies of switching power amplifiers is introduced. This evaluation has a guiding role in the design of a switching power amplifier of an active magnetic bearing.