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Active foil bearings are a kind of gas foil bearing. They contain actuators which allow for modification of the bearing sleeve size and the shape of the lubrication gap. Rotor vibrations can be actively controlled by these changes. It is possible, among other things, to reduce the starting torque, control the vibration amplitude at different speeds and improve operational safety. Prototypes of active foil bearings are being developed...

Controllable/active bearings are mainly associated with active magnetic bearings (AMBs), whereas active bearing control is also found in many types of bearings, e.g. fluid, gas and hybrid bearings. The article presents a review of the literature describing the structure and results of studies of active bearings. Active control brings a number of benefits resulting in the fact that their use as a support for rotors becomes increasingly...

In comparison to the traditional solutions, active bearings offer great operating flexibility, ensure better operating conditions over a wider range of rotational speeds and are safe to use. In order to ensure optimum bearing performance a bearing control system is used that adapts different geometries during device operation. The selection of optimal controller parameters requires the use of modern optimization methods that make...