Performance assessment of auxiliary bearing in HTR-10 AMB helium circulator on the event of rotor drop

In this paper, a model for analyzing internal contact stress arid external load of ball bearing from rotor displacement was developed based on the Hertz contact theory and applied to the analysis of the rotor drop test in HTR-10 helium circulator equipped with AMB (Active Magnetic Bearing) to gain a better understanding of auxiliary bearing performance at different stages after the rotor drop. It was shown that the auxiliary bearing can well resist axial impact produced by rotor drop, avoiding of internal severe plastic deformation and damage to the performance of the auxiliary bearing. Rotor's rotary motion and the heat accumulation of the inner ring resulted from the initial acute acceleration are the main contributor of radial load during the rotor idling and may cause the failure of auxiliary bearing. This paper analyzed the influence of this load and confirmed that the auxiliary bearing can still work in its loading limits. (authors)