Load and stiffness of a planar ferrofluid pocket bearing

Journal article (2018)

Authors

Stefan Lampaert Mechatronic Systems Design - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
S.G.E. Lampaert Mechatronic Systems Design - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
J.W. Spronck Mechatronic Systems Design - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
R.A.J. van Ostayen Mechatronic Systems Design - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Research Group
Mechatronic Systems Design (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2018 S.G.E. Lampaert, J.W. Spronck, R.A.J. van Ostayen
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1350650117739200
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Published Date

2018

Language

English

Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Precision and Microsystems Engineering

Research Group

Mechatronic Systems Design

Abstract

A ferrofluid pocket bearings is a type of hydrostatic bearing that uses a ferrofluid seal to encapsulate a pocket of air to carry a load. Their properties, combining a high stiffness with low (viscous) friction and absence of stick-slip, make them interesting for applications that require fast and high precision positioning. Knowledge on the exact performance of these types of bearings is up to now not available. This article presents a method to model the load carrying capacity and normal stiffness characteristics of this type of bearings. Required for this is the geometry of the bearing, the shape of the magnetic field and the magnetization strength of the fluid. This method is experimentally validated and is shown to be correct for describing the load and stiffness characteristics of any fixed shape of ferrofluid pocket bearing.