Jordan McCrone of Northrop Grumman Corporation

Abstract: 

Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs) are actuators that offer near-frictionless operation of spinning rotors. As is often the case with actuators used with feedback, magnetic bearings are driven with a high gain inner loop to linearize their input-output response for the stabilizing rotor position outer loop control development. The primary benefit of the high gain actuator is that the need for the outer loop to have an internal model of the magnetic bearings is mitigated. However, driving the magnetic bearings with high gain presents issues including increased noise, reduced stability margin, and sensitivity to rotor imbalance, motivating the inclusion of an internal model of the magnetic bearings. H_inf synthesis will be employed to demonstrate potential benefits of a low gain amplifier. And since magnetic bearings show temperature sensitivity, mu-synthesis will be leveraged to show that the benefits of a low gain amplifier can still be realized despite significant process noise and strict requirements. Models of AMB rotor systems will be shown to demonstrate their inherent issues and how a holistic control approach can solve them.

Biography:

Dr. Jordan McCrone

Senior Dynamic Systems and Controls Engineer, Northrop Grumman. 

Dr. Jordan McCrone holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cleveland State University and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California - Davis. At UC Davis, Jordan developed skills in vehicle dynamics and controls leading to his current work in magnetic bearing actutator systems. 

Email:

Address:Sunnyvale, California, United States, 94086