Flywheel energy storage systems are being considered as efficient energy storage devices for use on unmanned, low earth orbit satellites. These systems are expected to provide five to ten times improvement in specific energy storage capacity with longer life than current battery systems.
Low-loss magnetic bearings will be needed to support the flywheel rotor. For smaller satellites, we are investigating a simple system that uses only passive magnets for radial bearing support and jewel bearings for axial support.
This presentation describes a study on a 100 percent passive magnetic bearing flywheel rig with no active control components. The objective was to determine whether the bearing system has sufficient stiffness and damping built in to allow performance over the required speed range.
You can download a recent report on this projec