Velocity dependence of rotational loss in Evershed-type superconducting bearings

Results of free spin down in vacuum are reported for an Evershed-type superconducting bearing in which a permanent magnet (PM) ring is levitated over an array of high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) and under a similar PM ring in magnetic attraction. The velocity dependence of the rotational loss strongly suggests that the observed velocity-dependent losses are primarily due to eddy currents induced in the PM by inhomogeneity of the field produced by the magnetized HTS array. The results show that the Evershed-type bearing is capable of reducing these eddy-current losses to an extremely low level, so that at a maximum magnet rim velocity of 28 m/s, the fractional kinetic-energy loss per hour was 2.4x10-4. Significant levitation heights are also possible, and at a 23 mm height, we measured a low-speed coefficient of friction of 3x10-8. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics