Magnetic Drag and Energy Losses in Noncontact Bearings Based on Superconducting Tapes

Abstract

In the paper, the problem of magnetic drag and origination of energy losses in noncontact bearings based on high-temperature superconducting tapes is considered. The model configurations of bearings in which a superconducting tape is a stator and a set of permanent magnets is a rotor are investigated. It is shown that the magnetic friction can be neglected in the case where more than eight permanent magnets compose the rotor. This result indicates the possibility to create scaled magnetic bearings for the systems of long-term energy storage, for example, flywheel energy storage systems.