Design of an electromagnetically tuned mass damper and its experimental study on vibration reduction for flywheel rotor systems

The trend towards higher speeds in flywheel energy storage systems is highlighting the need for improved bearing support. To overcome the limitations of traditional oil dampers, such as narrow damping range and insufficient damping, this study introduces an Electromagnetic Tuned Mass Damper (ETMD) designed for high-speed, low-inertia flywheel systems. Using Comsol finite element software, a model was created to optimize the damper's parameters. A comparative experiment was conducted between the newly designed ETMD and a conventional oil damper on vibration damping single point flexible support. The experimental findings indicate that a uniform arrangement of permanent magnets within the eddy current damper yields greater damping forces, with the damping coefficient significantly increasing at amplitudes beyond 0.2 mm, and notably effective in controlling low-frequency vibrations within the 75 Hz to 25 Hz range. Although the magnetic yoke is crucial, variations in its thickness minimally affect performance, and the optimal damping effect is achieved with a back iron thickness of 4mm, highlighting the existence of an ideal thickness for the back iron. Rotor experiments have demonstrated that eddy current dampers demonstrate enhanced vibration control with amplitudes of 49 μm, outperforming hydrodynamic dampers at 75 μm during acceleration and 71 μm during deceleration.