Analysis, Design, and Testing of a Control System for an Air Turbine Rotor Drive

This work details the development and implementation of a control system to regulate the speed of a magnetically-suspended rotor and flywheel. Development began with the installation of an electronic flow control valve and all instrumentation needed to measure rotor response. Once all hardware was in place, a simulation model of the system, consisting of actuator (electronic valve) and plant (air turbine magnetic bearings, rotor and flywheel), was created. This model was developed using system identification techniques where a step input is applied to the plant and its response is measured. A transfer function of the plant was derived from these tests, and it relates volumetric flow rate of air to rotor speed and uses variable coefficients. Using this model, a control system was developed and experimentally evaluated, with good results.