INNOVATIVE MAGNETIC SUSPENSION BEARING TECHNOLOGY FOR SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINE TURBOPUMPS INNOVATIVE MAGNETIC SUSPENSION BEARING TECHNOLOGY FOR SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINE TURBOPUMPS

THE RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE OF SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINES (SSME) ARE CRITICAL TO MISSION LAUNCH, SUCCESS, AND SAFETY. CURRENTLY, SSME RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE ARE LIMITED BY TURBOPUMP BEARING FAILURE, BOTH IN THE HIGH PRESSURE LIQUID OXYGEN AND HIGH PRESSURE FUEL TURBOPUMPS (HPOTP AND HPFTP). CURRENT BEARING LIMITATIONS ARE RELATED TO HIGH STRESSES AND WEAR AS WELL AS TO HARSH (TEMPERATURE AND CORROSION) ENVIRONMENTS. MAGNETIC BEARING (MB) SUSPENSION TECHNOLOGY CAN ALLEVIATE THESE PROBLEMS BECAUSE THE MB ACTUATOR, SENSOR, AND CONTROL SYSTEM CAN COMPENSATE FOR UNEVEN LOADING, SUFFER NO WEAR, AND CAN BE DESIGNED TO TOLERATE OR SEAL OFF CORROSIVE AGENTS. THE APPLICABILITY OFMB TO SSME HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN LIMITED BY THE MB SIZE, WEIGHT AND POWER DRAW, AS WELL AS EDDY CURRENT/HYSTERESIS LOSSES (WHICH DRASTICALLY LIMIT PRACTICAL RPMS). WE HAVE RECENTLY INNOVATED A NEW CLASS OF MB DESIGN WHICH CONCURRENTLY REDUCES SIZE, WEIGHT, POWER DRAW, AND EDDY CURRENT/HYSTERESIS LOSSES. IN THIS PROJECT, THE METHODOLOGYOF THIS NEW CLASS OF MB DESIGN IS APPLIED TO SSME TURBOPUMPSDESIGNS. NEAR TERM DESIGNS ARE BASED ON STATE OF THE ART PERMANENT MAGNETS AND HIGH EFFICIENCY MAGNETIC MATERIALS. FAR TERM DESIGNS ARE BASED ON HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING (HTSC) MATERIALS.