EP3832141A1 - Procédé de fonctionnement d'une pompe a vide - Google Patents

Procédé de fonctionnement d'une pompe a vide Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3832141A1
EP3832141A1 EP20205911.9A EP20205911A EP3832141A1 EP 3832141 A1 EP3832141 A1 EP 3832141A1 EP 20205911 A EP20205911 A EP 20205911A EP 3832141 A1 EP3832141 A1 EP 3832141A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
rotor
bearing
wear
vacuum pump
backup bearing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP20205911.9A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP3832141B1 (fr
Inventor
Herbert Stammler
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG
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Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG
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Priority to EP20205911.9A priority Critical patent/EP3832141B1/fr
Publication of EP3832141A1 publication Critical patent/EP3832141A1/fr
Priority to JP2021127232A priority patent/JP7209054B2/ja
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP3832141B1 publication Critical patent/EP3832141B1/fr
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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D19/00—Axial-flow pumps
    • F04D19/02—Multi-stage pumps
    • F04D19/04—Multi-stage pumps specially adapted to the production of a high vacuum, e.g. molecular pumps
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D27/00—Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or pumping systems specially adapted for elastic fluids
    • F04D27/001—Testing thereof; Determination or simulation of flow characteristics; Stall or surge detection, e.g. condition monitoring
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D27/00—Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or pumping systems specially adapted for elastic fluids
    • F04D27/02—Surge control
    • F04D27/0292—Stop safety or alarm devices, e.g. stop-and-go control; Disposition of check-valves
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
    • F04D29/05—Shafts or bearings, or assemblies thereof, specially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
    • F04D29/056—Bearings
    • F04D29/058—Bearings magnetic; electromagnetic

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method for operating a vacuum pump and a vacuum pump with a control device which is designed to carry out such a method.
  • vacuum pumps for example turbo-molecular pumps and / or vacuum pumps with Siegbahn pump stages, are equipped with a rotor that has an active magnetic bearing. Since the active magnetic bearing is contactless and lubricant-free, normal operation of such a vacuum pump with active magnetic bearing is almost wear-free and maintenance-free.
  • any form of malfunction can limit the service life of the vacuum pump with active magnetic bearings.
  • Such malfunctions are, for example, failures of the supply voltage or pulse-like or permanent external mechanical influences that act beyond the permissible range. These effects are caused, for example, by earthquakes, shocks, vibrations, resonance events or by electrical, magnetic or other high-energy fields or radiation.
  • operational disruptions can occur due to process influences that result in a sudden change effect of the flow rates of the media to be pumped and / or auxiliary media, for example during flooding, evacuation or when a process is started or stopped.
  • Such malfunctions can in many cases lead to overloading and / or failure of the active magnetic bearing of the vacuum pump.
  • a secondary mechanical bearing system In such a case of overload or failure of the active magnetic bearing, a secondary mechanical bearing system is usually provided which, in normal operation, only engages with the rotor or with a corresponding stator of the vacuum pump and only provides reliable mechanical contact when the active magnetic bearing is inactive or disrupted established between the rotor and the stator, this contact still allowing a rotation of the rotor relative to the stator of the vacuum pump.
  • the secondary mechanical bearing system ensures emergency storage and adequate centering of the rotor within the stator.
  • the secondary mechanical storage system is generally known as emergency camp, backup camp, protective camp, landing camp, support camp, contact camp or catch camp. This last term is used in the following.
  • the operating status of the emergency storage using one or more safety camps is referred to below as the safety camp operation.
  • a backup bearing is firmly clamped on the side of the stator or on this, and it is completely at a standstill in normal operation.
  • the safety bearing can, however, also be firmly clamped on the side of the rotor or on this and rotate completely with the rotor during normal operation of the vacuum pump.
  • “completely stationary” and “completely rotating” mean that all components of the backup bearing perform almost no relative movements with one another during normal operation without the effect of bearing loads and thus do not perform any rotational bearing task during normal operation.
  • Safety bearings for vacuum pumps are usually not designed for long-term operation. Rather, the lifespan of a safety camp during the safety camp operation is usually only a few minutes up to a few hours. That is why the safety bearings for vacuum pumps are simply referred to as "time-resistant". Even if a safety bearing is designed as a full ball bearing, it does not have a sufficient load-bearing capacity for continuous operation in the space available. Furthermore, for the operation of a vacuum pump with a safety bearing, there is the requirement to keep the safety bearing free of lubricant or at least free of organic and / or volatile lubricants. Safety bearings are therefore often operated without lubrication or are wetted, impregnated or infiltrated with minimal amounts of special inorganic dry lubricants such as graphite or molybdenum disulphide.
  • One object of the invention is to create a method for operating a vacuum pump with which the backup bearing operation, which comprises a period from an uncontrollable start of a fault in the vacuum pump to the resumption of normal operation of the vacuum pump or to the occurrence of a standstill, is so wear-resistant is designed as possible for the fishing camp.
  • the method is provided for operating a vacuum pump which has a rotor, a stator, an actively controlled magnetic bearing for supporting the rotor and a backup bearing for the rotor.
  • a set of operating specifications for the vacuum pump is first provided, which has at least one operating state of the vacuum pump that can be reached in the event of a malfunction.
  • a malfunction event is detected in which the rotor leaves a space provided for the rotor in relation to the stator in such a way that wear occurs on the backup bearing.
  • a wear increment for the backup bearing is estimated on the basis of the detected fault event, and the wear increment is added to a variable for the total wear of the backup bearing. On the basis of the set of operating specifications for the vacuum pump and on the basis of the variables for the total wear of the backup bearing, it is finally determined whether a measure to stabilize the rotor is being carried out.
  • the operating state of the vacuum pump which is to be achieved in the event of a malfunction and is included in the set of operating specifications, can be, for example, a standstill of the rotor of the vacuum pump, which should be achieved as quickly as possible, or, conversely, the maintenance of the vacuum by the rotor by a Stabilization is brought back to normal operation with a turn in the space provided.
  • the set of operating specifications can include other operating states between these extremes, i.e. between the standstill of the rotor and the maintenance of the vacuum with the rotor stabilized.
  • the fault event can be detected, for example, by means of at least one sensor which is designed to monitor the spatial position of the rotor.
  • magnetic bearing position sensors can be used, with two pairs of such position sensors being arranged perpendicular to one another in the radial direction with respect to an axis of rotation of the rotor and a single or a further pair of position sensors being arranged in the axial direction, i.e. along the axis of rotation of the rotor.
  • vibration and / or acceleration sensors can be used to detect a fault event in the vacuum pump.
  • the wear increment and the variable for the total wear of the back-up bearing can be quantified specifically as a percentage of the permissible wear of the back-up bearing, whereby the total permissible wear is based on empirical values and corresponds to a state in which the back-up bearing is considered to be completely worn and must be replaced when the vacuum pump is serviced .
  • measured values from the sensors described above can be used, to which the wear increment can be assigned on the basis of a calibrated table.
  • measured values from magnetic bearing position sensors can describe the duration and the intensity of contact between the rotor and the backup bearing, and the duration as well as the intensity of the contact between the backup bearing and the rotor can be assigned to a wear increment as a percentage of the permissible total wear.
  • the measure for stabilizing the rotor includes, in particular, that the rotor is brought back into a predetermined spatial position or target position by means of the active magnetic bearing, which is provided for normal operation of the vacuum pump and can be checked, for example, by means of magnetic bearing position sensors. Since the measure brings about a renewed stabilization of the rotor, which was already stabilized before the fault event, this renewed stabilization is also referred to as "restabilization" of the rotor.
  • a "mediation" takes place between the set of operating specifications for the vacuum pump and the variables for the total wear of the backup bearing. If, for example, it is specified for the operation of the vacuum pump that the vacuum must absolutely be maintained, a measure to stabilize the rotor in the event of a malfunction can always be carried out, as long as the variable for the total wear of the backup bearing is below a specified threshold value. If the variable for the total wear reaches this threshold value, it can, conversely, be decided that no measures are taken to stabilize the rotor and instead the rotor is brought to a standstill in order not to endanger the operational safety of the vacuum pump.
  • the wear of the safety bearing can thus be minimized by "mediating" between the set of operating specifications and the variables for the total wear, since this mediation achieves a compromise between normal operation with stabilization of the rotor and full run-down of the rotor of the vacuum pump to a standstill can. Due to the minimized wear and tear of the backup bearing, the period of time can be maximized until it is necessary to replace the backup bearing during maintenance of the vacuum pump.
  • the vacuum pump can be shut down. Without the measure to stabilize the rotor, safe operation of the vacuum pump may no longer be guaranteed. The vacuum pump or the rotor is therefore shut down to a standstill, although the overall wear of the backup bearing increases due to the full stop of the rotor. By shutting down the vacuum pump, however, possible damage to the vacuum pump outside the backup bearing, for example in the area of the pump-active elements such as stator and rotor disks, can be avoided.
  • the measure for stabilizing the rotor is successful. If the measure to stabilize the rotor fails, it can be determined after a predetermined waiting time whether the measure to stabilize the rotor is carried out again. Another wear increment can be determined, which is added to the variable for the total wear of the backup bearing.
  • the determination of whether the measure for stabilizing the rotor is carried out again can in turn be based on the set of operating specifications for the vacuum pump and based on the variables for the total wear of the backup bearing. If the measure for stabilizing the rotor fails, this measure is repeated iteratively in the present embodiment, wherein the waiting time between the stabilization attempts can increase with the number of iterations. Through the iterative attempts to stabilize the stator, the wear of the backup bearing can be further minimized, since overall the probability is increased that the rotor of the vacuum pump will return to normal operation without contact with the backup bearing due to the stabilization.
  • an operating state to be achieved can also be selected within the set of operating specifications for the vacuum pump if the set of operating specifications for the vacuum pump comprises more than one operating state to be achieved.
  • a characteristic map can also be used that includes the probability of a renewed stabilization of the rotor as a function of the current speed of the rotor and / or other operating parameters of the vacuum pump .
  • the map can in turn be based on empirical values.
  • the vacuum pump can be shut down and / or an error message can be output if the variable for the total wear of the Catch camp exceeds a predetermined threshold.
  • the threshold value can depend on the expected service life of the safety camp.
  • the size of the wear increment can be estimated on the basis of experimental data and / or on the basis of empirical values.
  • the estimation of the size of the wear increment takes place in particular on the basis of measured values of at least one sensor, which are determined during the malfunction event.
  • the size of the wear increment can depend on the intensity of the disturbance event, which is reflected, for example, in the experimental data of the sensor.
  • the size of the wear increment can also be estimated as a function of a rotational speed of the rotor when the malfunction occurs and / or as a function of an installation position of the vacuum pump.
  • the size of the wear increment can in particular be proportional to the square of the speed of the rotor. Since the rotational energy of the rotor is also proportional to the square of the speed of the rotor, the size of the wear increment can thus increase proportionally to the rotational energy of the rotor.
  • the wear increment can comprise at least two components.
  • a first component can be based on an initial acceleration of the backup bearing when the malfunction occurs, while a second component is based on an expected wear of the backup bearing during the stabilization of the rotor or while the rotor is coasting down can be based until it comes to a standstill.
  • the wear increment can additionally include a third component, which can be based on the backup bearing running out after the rotor has stabilized.
  • Each of the three components can in turn have different values depending on the course of the measure for stabilizing the rotor. Using the three components of the wear increment, the malfunction event and its effect on the wear and tear of the safety bearing can be evaluated in detail.
  • the set of operating specifications for the vacuum pump can have at least two operating states of the vacuum pump to be reached in the event of a malfunction, which include maintaining the vacuum within the vacuum pump and shutting down the vacuum pump.
  • the operating states to be achieved in the event of a malfunction can be prioritized by a user of the vacuum pump and / or by a learning algorithm. Not only can at least two operating states to be achieved in the event of a malfunction be specified, but these operating states can be dynamically evaluated either by the user of the vacuum pump and / or by the learning algorithm in order to match the preferred operating state to the respective operating mode of the vacuum pump or a vacuum system in which it is located.
  • the wear increment for the backup bearing estimated on the basis of the detected fault event can be updated during the measure for stabilizing the rotor or during the shutdown of the vacuum pump.
  • the updated wear increment can be added to the variable for the total wear of the backup bearing instead of the previously estimated wear increment.
  • the initial estimate of the wear increment is thus adapted to the course of the measures either to stabilize the rotor or to shut it down the vacuum pump. As a result, the actual wear of the backup bearing can be documented in a more precise manner using the variables for the total wear.
  • the retainer bearing can have several bearing points.
  • a respective wear increment can be determined for each bearing point and added to a respective variable for the total wear at the respective bearing point.
  • the vacuum pump can be shut down and / or an error message output if at least one of the variables for the total wear at one of the bearing points exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
  • the invention also relates to a vacuum pump with a rotor, a stator, an actively controlled magnetic bearing for supporting the rotor and a backup bearing for the rotor.
  • the vacuum pump further comprises at least one means for detecting a malfunction event in which the rotor leaves a space provided for the rotor in relation to the stator in such a way that wear occurs on the backup bearing.
  • the vacuum pump comprises a control device and a memory which comprises a variable for the total wear of the backup bearing.
  • the control device is designed to carry out a method as described above.
  • the memory which contains the variable for the total wear of the backup bearing, is thus assigned directly to the backup bearing, i.e. the memory forms a unit with the backup bearing, which can be exchanged together with the backup bearing when the vacuum pump is serviced.
  • the memory can be integrated into the safety camp or represent a further device which nevertheless forms a spatial unit with the safety camp, for example. In both cases, however, the memory is a separate unit related to the control device, with which the operation of the vacuum pump and in particular the magnetic bearing of the rotor are regulated and which, related to the maintenance of the vacuum pump, is independent of the backup bearing and the memory for the variable of total wear is to be treated.
  • the memory thus enables documentation of the wear and tear of the backup bearing, for example over its entire service life and independently of the remaining control electronics of the vacuum pump.
  • the memory can be designed to only allow the addition of wear increments for the backup bearing to the variable for the total wear of the backup bearing and otherwise to keep the variable for the total wear of the backup bearing unchanged during the entire service life of the backup bearing.
  • the at least one means for detecting the malfunction event can comprise a sensor which is designed to detect the spatial position of the rotor and / or a vibration and / or acceleration sensor which is attached to the stator. With the help of such a sensor, it is possible to obtain indications of the beginning of a fault event at an early stage. This applies in particular when the sensor is attached to the stator of the vacuum pump as a vibration and / or acceleration sensor.
  • the vacuum pump can also be a turbo-molecular pump or a vacuum pump with Siegbahn pump stages, in which the rotor is supported by means of the actively controlled magnetic bearing.
  • the turbo-molecular pump 111 shown comprises a pump inlet 115 which is surrounded by an inlet flange 113 and at which in FIG Way a recipient, not shown, can be connected.
  • the gas from the recipient can be sucked out of the recipient via the pump inlet 115 and conveyed through the pump to a pump outlet 117 to which a backing pump, such as a rotary vane pump, can be connected.
  • the inlet flange 113 forms according to FIG Fig. 1 the upper end of the housing 119 of the vacuum pump 111.
  • the housing 119 comprises a lower part 121 on which an electronics housing 123 is arranged laterally. Electrical and / or electronic components of the vacuum pump 111 are accommodated in the electronics housing 123, for example for operating an electric motor 125 arranged in the vacuum pump (see also FIG Fig. 3 ).
  • a plurality of connections 127 for accessories are provided on the electronics housing 123.
  • a data interface 129 for example in accordance with the RS485 standard, and a power supply connection 131 are arranged on the electronics housing 123.
  • turbo-molecular pumps that do not have an electronic housing attached in this way, but are connected to external drive electronics.
  • a flood inlet 133 in particular in the form of a flood valve, is provided on the housing 119 of the turbo molecular pump 111, via which the vacuum pump 111 can be flooded.
  • a sealing gas connection 135, which is also referred to as a purging gas connection via which purging gas is used to protect the electric motor 125 (see e.g. Fig. 3 ) can be admitted into the engine compartment 137, in which the electric motor 125 in the vacuum pump 111 is accommodated, before the gas conveyed by the pump.
  • Two coolant connections 139 are also arranged in the lower part 121, one of the coolant connections as an inlet and the other coolant connection is provided as an outlet for coolant, which can be fed into the vacuum pump for cooling purposes.
  • Other existing turbo-molecular vacuum pumps (not shown) are operated exclusively with air cooling.
  • the lower side 141 of the vacuum pump can serve as a standing surface, so that the vacuum pump 111 can be operated standing on the lower side 141.
  • the vacuum pump 111 can, however, also be attached to a recipient via the inlet flange 113 and can thus be operated in a suspended manner, as it were.
  • the vacuum pump 111 can be designed in such a way that it can also be put into operation when it is oriented in a different way than in FIG Fig. 1 is shown.
  • Embodiments of the vacuum pump can also be implemented in which the underside 141 cannot be arranged facing downwards, but facing to the side or facing upwards. In principle, any angle is possible.
  • various screws 143 are also arranged by means of which components of the vacuum pump not specified here are attached to one another.
  • a bearing cap 145 is attached to the underside 141.
  • Fastening bores 147 are also arranged on the underside 141, via which the pump 111 can be fastened to a support surface, for example. This is not possible with other existing turbo molecular vacuum pumps (not shown), which are in particular larger than the pump shown here.
  • a coolant line 148 is shown, in which the coolant introduced and discharged via the coolant connections 139 can circulate.
  • the vacuum pump comprises several process gas pump stages for conveying the process gas present at the pump inlet 115 to the pump outlet 117.
  • a rotor 149 is arranged in the housing 119 and has a rotor shaft 153 rotatable about an axis of rotation 151.
  • the turbo-molecular pump 111 comprises several turbo-molecular pump stages connected in series with one another with several radial rotor disks 155 fastened to the rotor shaft 153 and stator disks 157 arranged between the rotor disks 155 and fixed in the housing 119.
  • a rotor disk 155 and an adjacent stator disk 157 each form a turbomolecular one Pumping stage.
  • the stator disks 157 are held at a desired axial distance from one another by spacer rings 159.
  • the vacuum pump also comprises Holweck pump stages which are arranged one inside the other in the radial direction and are connected in series with one another for effective pumping. There are other turbo-molecular vacuum pumps (not shown) that do not have Holweck pump stages.
  • the rotor of the Holweck pump stages comprises a rotor hub 161 arranged on the rotor shaft 153 and two cylinder-jacket-shaped Holweck rotor sleeves 163, 165 which are attached to the rotor hub 161 and carried by the latter, which are oriented coaxially to the axis of rotation 151 and nested in one another in the radial direction. Furthermore, two cylinder jacket-shaped Holweck stator sleeves 167, 169 are provided, which are also oriented coaxially to the axis of rotation 151 and, viewed in the radial direction, are nested in one another.
  • the active pumping surfaces of the Holweck pump stages are formed by the jacket surfaces, that is to say by the radial inner and / or outer surfaces, of the Holweck rotor sleeves 163, 165 and the Holweck stator sleeves 167, 169.
  • the radial inner surface of the outer Holweck stator sleeve 167 lies opposite the radial outer surface of the outer Holweck rotor sleeve 163 with the formation of a radial Holweck gap 171 and with this forms the first Holweck pump stage following the turbomolecular pumps.
  • the radial inner surface of the outer Holweck rotor sleeve 163 faces the radial outer surface of the inner Holweck stator sleeve 169 with the formation of a radial Holweck gap 173 and forms with this a second Holweck pumping stage.
  • the radial inner surface of the inner Holweck stator sleeve 169 lies opposite the radial outer surface of the inner Holweck rotor sleeve 165 with the formation of a radial Holweck gap 175 and with this forms the third Holweck pumping stage.
  • a radially running channel can be provided, via which the radially outer Holweck gap 171 is connected to the central Holweck gap 173.
  • a radially running channel can be provided at the upper end of the inner Holweck stator sleeve 169, via which the middle Holweck gap 173 is connected to the radially inner Holweck gap 175.
  • a connecting channel 179 to the outlet 117 can also be provided at the lower end of the radially inner Holweck rotor sleeve 165.
  • the aforementioned pump-active surfaces of the Holweck stator sleeves 167, 169 each have a plurality of Holweck grooves running helically around the axis of rotation 151 in the axial direction, while the opposite ones
  • the outer surfaces of the Holweck rotor sleeves 163, 165 are smooth and propel the gas for operating the vacuum pump 111 in the Holweck grooves.
  • a roller bearing 181 is provided in the area of the pump outlet 117 and a permanent magnetic bearing 183 in the area of the pump inlet 115.
  • a conical injection molded nut 185 is provided on the rotor shaft 153 with an outer diameter that increases towards the roller bearing 181.
  • the injection-molded nut 185 is in sliding contact with at least one stripper of an operating medium reservoir.
  • an injection screw can be provided instead of an injection nut. Since different designs are thus possible, the term "spray tip" is also used in this context.
  • the operating medium reservoir comprises several absorbent disks 187 stacked on top of one another, which are impregnated with an operating medium for the roller bearing 181, e.g. with a lubricant.
  • the operating medium is transferred by capillary action from the operating medium reservoir via the scraper to the rotating injection nut 185 and, as a result of the centrifugal force, is conveyed along the injection nut 185 in the direction of the increasing outer diameter of the injection nut 185 to the roller bearing 181, where it eg fulfills a lubricating function.
  • the roller bearing 181 and the operating medium store are enclosed in the vacuum pump by a trough-shaped insert 189 and the bearing cover 145.
  • the permanent magnetic bearing 183 comprises a rotor-side bearing half 191 and a stator-side bearing half 193, which each have a ring stack of several permanent magnetic rings 195, stacked one on top of the other in the axial direction, 197 include.
  • the ring magnets 195, 197 are opposite one another with the formation of a radial bearing gap 199, the rotor-side ring magnets 195 being arranged radially on the outside and the stator-side ring magnets 197 being arranged radially on the inside.
  • the magnetic field present in the bearing gap 199 causes magnetic repulsive forces between the ring magnets 195, 197, which cause the rotor shaft 153 to be supported radially.
  • the rotor-side ring magnets 195 are carried by a carrier section 201 of the rotor shaft 153 which surrounds the ring magnets 195 radially on the outside.
  • the stator-side ring magnets 197 are carried by a stator-side support section 203 which extends through the ring magnets 197 and is suspended from radial struts 205 of the housing 119.
  • the ring magnets 195 on the rotor side are fixed parallel to the axis of rotation 151 by a cover element 207 coupled to the carrier section 201.
  • the stator-side ring magnets 197 are fixed parallel to the axis of rotation 151 in one direction by a fastening ring 209 connected to the carrier section 203 and a fastening ring 211 connected to the carrier section 203.
  • a plate spring 213 can also be provided between the fastening ring 211 and the ring magnet 197.
  • An emergency or retainer bearing 215 is provided within the magnetic bearing, which runs empty during normal operation of the vacuum pump 111 without contact and only comes into engagement with an excessive radial deflection of the rotor 149 relative to the stator to create a radial stop for the rotor 149 to form so that a collision of the rotor-side structures with the stator-side structures is prevented.
  • the backup bearing 215 is designed as an unlubricated roller bearing and forms a radial gap with the rotor 149 and / or the stator, which has the effect that the backup bearing 215 is disengaged during normal pumping operation.
  • the radial deflection at which the safety bearing 215 engages is dimensioned large enough that the safety bearing 215 does not come into engagement during normal operation of the vacuum pump, and at the same time small enough that a collision of the rotor-side structures with the stator-side structures is prevented under all circumstances.
  • the vacuum pump 111 comprises the electric motor 125 for rotatingly driving the rotor 149.
  • the armature of the electric motor 125 is formed by the rotor 149, the rotor shaft 153 of which extends through the motor stator 217.
  • a permanent magnet arrangement can be arranged radially on the outside or embedded on the section of the rotor shaft 153 extending through the motor stator 217.
  • the motor stator 217 is fixed in the housing within the motor compartment 137 provided for the electric motor 125.
  • a sealing gas which is also referred to as a flushing gas and which can be air or nitrogen, for example, can enter the engine compartment 137 via the sealing gas connection 135.
  • the electric motor 125 can be protected from process gas, e.g. from corrosive components of the process gas, via the sealing gas.
  • the engine compartment 137 can also be evacuated via the pump outlet 117, i.e. in the engine compartment 137 there is at least approximately the vacuum pressure produced by the backing pump connected to the pump outlet 117.
  • a so-called and known labyrinth seal 223 can also be provided between the rotor hub 161 and a wall 221 delimiting the engine compartment 137, in particular to achieve better sealing of the motor compartment 217 from the Holweck pump stages located radially outside.
  • the illustrated exemplary turbo molecular pump 111 has the passive permanent magnetic bearing 183 and the backup bearing 215. Since the method according to the invention differs from that in Fig. 8 an embodiment is shown, relates to a vacuum pump with an active magnetic bearing of a rotor or with an actively controlled magnetic bearing, which is equipped with a backup bearing such as the backup bearing 215 (cf. Fig. 3 ) is provided is in Fig. 6 In addition, such a vacuum pump 10 with an active magnetic bearing is shown, which is described below.
  • This vacuum pump 10 can - apart from the components for mounting the rotor 149 - comprise all the features of the vacuum pump 111 described above.
  • Fig. 6 shows the vacuum pump 10 in a schematic and greatly reduced representation.
  • the vacuum pump 10 comprises a rotor 12, which carries a plurality of turbo rotor disks 14 and can be driven by means of a motor 16 to rotate about the rotor axis 18 so that the turbo rotor disks 14 rotating relative to the stator disks (not shown) generate a pumping effect.
  • the pumping action runs from top to bottom.
  • the rotor 12 is supported by several magnetic bearings.
  • a first radial bearing 20 for the rotor 12 is arranged at an outlet-side end of the rotor 12.
  • An axial bearing 22 is arranged at the same end of the rotor.
  • a second radial bearing 24 is arranged at the inlet end of the rotor 12.
  • the first radial bearing 20 and the axial bearing 22 are designed to be actively controlled. You can therefore actively counteract a radial or axial deflection of the rotor 12 from its ideal position, for example by means of electromagnets.
  • a radial sensor arrangement 26 is arranged in the radial bearing 20, by means of which the radial deflection of the rotor 12 can be measured in a first axial region in two spatial directions perpendicular to the rotor axis 16.
  • a Axial sensor arrangement is also provided, but not shown here for the sake of simplicity.
  • the second radial bearing 24 is of passive design, i.e. it does not include an actuator for influencing the rotor 12. Rather, the second radial bearing 24 has a plurality of permanent magnets, for example on the rotor and stator side.
  • a second radial sensor arrangement 28 is provided, by means of which the deflection of the rotor 12 can be measured in a second axial area.
  • the second radial sensor arrangement 28 is arranged both between the first radial bearing 20 and the second radial bearing 24 and between the motor 16 and the second radial bearing 24.
  • the second radial sensor arrangement 28 is fastened to a component 30 which defines an engine compartment 32 of the engine 16.
  • the first and the second radial sensor arrangement 26 and 28 are clearly spaced from one another in the axial direction. If they measure different deflections of the rotor 12 in the corresponding axial range, it can be concluded that the rotor 12 is inclined, i.e. that the rotor axis 18 of the rotor 12 is not parallel to an ideal rotor axis, which can also be referred to as the zero axis. As soon as an inclination is recognized, the active, first radial bearing 20 can counteract this. For this purpose, the first radial bearing 20 can, for example, influence the rotor 12 in a pulse-like manner in order to push the rotor 12 back into its upright position, so to speak.
  • This type of control can be compared with that of an inverse pendulum.
  • an impulse is introduced into the rotor 12 at the bottom, which counteracts the tilting and at best brings the rotor 12 back to its upright position directly or gradually so that the rotor axis 18 is parallel to the zero axis.
  • the inclination and position control are superimposed on one another.
  • the radial bearings 20, 24 and the axial bearing 22 are each provided with a retainer bearing, not shown, for example a retainer bearing 215, as shown in FIG Fig. 3 is shown.
  • FIG Fig. 7 An exemplary radial sensor arrangement 34 is shown in FIG Fig. 7 shown.
  • One or both of the first and second radial sensor arrangements 26 and 28 can be designed accordingly.
  • the radial sensor arrangement 34 comprises an annular circuit board 36 on which a plurality of coils 38 are applied.
  • a rotor to be measured in its deflection would extend through the ring and with a rotor axis perpendicular to the image plane.
  • the rotor is deflected, i.e. in Fig. 7 Shifts along the image plane, this changes the voltage induced in the coils 38, which leads to a changed measurement signal.
  • the deflection can therefore be deduced from this measurement signal.
  • Two coils are provided opposite one another for each direction of movement x and y.
  • a five-axis active magnetic bearing can take place, which, with the exception of the axis of rotation, supports the rotor 12, 149 in a completely actively controlled and contact-free manner.
  • one or two bearing axes and / or one axial or one of two radial, biaxial bearing planes can be used instead of an active with a passive permanent magnetic bearing, a contacting tip sliding bearing or a roller bearing, which is a ball bearing, for example acts, be executed.
  • Passively acting permanent magnet bearings typically also have backup bearings (cf. the backup bearing 215 of Fig. 3 ), but contacting plain or roller bearings usually do not.
  • the term "safety camp" always means the various possible configurations of single-, three-, four- or five-axis acting safety camps in their entirety.
  • the backup bearings 215 of the vacuum pumps 10, 111 have spatially separated bearing points, which are designed as single-row full ball bearings or as paired, i.e. matched or selected full ball bearing pairs in an O or X arrangement.
  • Single row ball bearings are mainly used for bearing points that act purely radially.
  • the use of a single-row ball bearing for purely axial or combined radial and axial bearing points is also possible. More stringent requirements for an axial bearing or a combined radial and axial bearing can be met by using coordinated ball bearing pairs.
  • the components of the ball bearings consist of different materials.
  • the inner and outer rings of the ball bearings are made of steel, stainless steel or special high-quality steel grades for use in roller bearings.
  • the rolling elements can also consist of a specially high-quality steel grade or of ceramic materials.
  • a bearing cage that may be present can also be made of specially high-quality steel grades or of a wear-resistant plastic with self-lubricating properties, with or without fiber components to increase strength. In all cases, steel components can be hardened in sections or areas, completely or specifically on individual surfaces by means of various types of heat treatments.
  • Solid ball bearings do not have a guide element for the rolling elements such as a bearing cage or other forms of rolling element spacers.
  • the ball bearing is filled with as many balls as possible.
  • a special filling cutout in the walls of the bearing ring can support the process of filling in the balls.
  • the larger number of possible rolling elements compared to a version with a bearing cage enables a higher absolute load capacity of the bearing with the same size.
  • bearing cages are usually not robust enough to withstand the high accelerations of the bearing during use without damage.
  • the backup bearing 215 is firmly clamped on the side of the stator or on this, and it is completely at a standstill during normal operation of the vacuum pump 10, 111.
  • the retainer bearing 215 can, however, alternatively also be firmly clamped on the side of the rotor 149 or on the latter and rotate completely with the rotor 149 during normal operation of the vacuum pump 10, 111. “Complete standstill” and “complete co-rotation” each mean that none of the components of the backup bearing 215 execute almost any relative movements with one another without the action of bearing loads during normal operation of the vacuum pump 10, 111.
  • the other, freely rotatable half of the backup bearing 215 is arranged with a gap that remains free on the opposite side that only when the rotor 12, 149 is deflected, which is beyond the normal operation of the Active magnetic bearing goes beyond the usual extent, a touching contact between the backup bearing 215 and a contact surface in the stator and thus the emergency storage, which mechanically limits the deflection, is established.
  • Rotation between the inner and outer ring of the backup bearing 215 takes place only in the backup bearing operation, which causes wear of the backup bearing 215. The remaining play between the contact surfaces is called the catch bearing play.
  • the backlash bearing play is viewed as the absolute total play of the system in a movement axis or plane.
  • this is the absolute difference between the diameter of the two contact surfaces and not the difference between the two radii, which determines the size of the actual, in normal operation would describe the circumferential absolute gap prevailing on average at the circumference of the contact surfaces.
  • This applies analogously to an axial bearing in which there are corresponding linear dimensions between the contact surfaces.
  • parasitic drag effects can lead to the freely rotatable half of the backup bearing 215 automatically starting to rotate with the freely spaced opposite side of the backup bearing 215.
  • the parasitic drag effects are caused, for example, by electromagnetic interactions or by gas friction in a narrow gap at very high speed differences or speed differences between the halves of the backup bearing 215.
  • the parasitic drag effects conversely, cause the freely rotatable half of the backup bearing 215 to stop when observed in a global reference system on the stator side.
  • the undesired co-rotation occurs continuously, this is associated with unnecessary wear of the backup bearing 215.
  • the freely rotatable half of the backup bearing 215 is acted in such a way that the undesired co-rotation is suppressed or sufficiently inhibited.
  • the action takes place, for example, by means of mechanically contacting, electromagnetically acting brake elements or by means of special bearing configurations, such as by means of clamping inserted rolling elements or deliberately non-round or imperfect bearing elements.
  • the rotor 12, 149 is deflected out of its predetermined range of motion. This deflection is spatially limited by the contact of the freely rotatable half of the backup bearing 215 with the opposite side.
  • the sliding and static friction effects result in a very fast, almost complete Alignment of the rotational speeds of the freely rotatable half and its opposite side in the safety bearing 215 is effected.
  • the resulting emergency storage prevents further damage to the vacuum pump 10, 111 through undesired contacts between rotor and stator elements.
  • the vacuum pump 10, 111 is in the backup camp operation.
  • either the backup bearing operation is ended by resuming the active magnetic bearing, or the pump remains in the backup bearing operation until the rotor 12, 149 comes to a standstill.
  • the resumption of the active magnetic bearing is also referred to as restarting, resumption or restabilization.
  • the process of running down, slowing down or running down the rotor 12, 149 to a standstill during a backup bearing operation, in particular from an operating speed of the vacuum pump 10, 111 to a standstill, is generally referred to as full stop. If a restabilization takes place during a backup bearing operation before the rotor 12, 149 comes to a standstill, this is referred to as a partial run-out with a certain initial and final speed.
  • the partial run-out takes place, for example, from the operating speed of the vacuum pump 10, 111 up to a restabilization speed which is less than the operating speed, but approximately the same. All of these processes include a period of time between a start and an end point and of different lengths of the safety camp operation, which is also referred to as the running time in the safety camp operation.
  • the type of disturbance can be determined in detail by considering additional sensors on, in or near the vacuum pump 10, 111, for example with the aid of one or more vibration and / or acceleration sensors that detect one or more effective directions. If malfunction events are detected by means of such sensors on the stator of the vacuum pump 10, 111, the onset of malfunctions can be detected earlier than solely by monitoring the position signals of the radial sensor arrangements 26, 28 for the rotor 12, 149 within the active magnetic bearing.
  • Mechanical disturbances usually originate from the system or stator side and lead to a displacement of the stator in space. When the deflection begins, the rotor 12, 149 as a stabilized gyro follows the stator in a delayed manner due to the active magnetic bearing.
  • an element or a control of the vacuum pump 10, 111 or the active magnetic bearing can have an energy storage device, for example single-use battery or primary cells and / or accumulators and / or capacitors of high capacity, which ensure an emergency supply of the active magnetic bearing.
  • the drive contained in the vacuum pump 10, 111 can be designed in such a way that it can not only drive, but also act as a generator. As a result, rotational energy is converted back into electrical energy, which then enables an emergency supply of the active magnetic bearing.
  • the safety camp will not operate until the last securing device fails.
  • the rotor 12, 149 cannot, however, continue to be driven in the event of a failure of the supply voltage, so that it runs down to a standstill either freely or with a generator braked on it.
  • Such a run-down of the rotor 12, 149 can last between a few seconds and several hours, which is due to the quality and maintenance of the vacuum in the vacuum pump 10, 111, the level of electromagnetic losses of the components, which are caused, for example, by eddy currents and magnetic reversal losses, the energy consumption of the active magnetic bearing and an optional active braking by an additional load resistor.
  • the wear of the backup bearing 215 occurring in the backup bearing operation depends on several factors, of which the running time and the speed of the rotor 12, 149 in the backup bearing operation are primary influencing factors.
  • Another influencing factor is the relative speed between the freely rotatable half of the safety camp and its opposite side at the beginning of a safety camp operation, i.e. at the moment of contact between the halves of the safety camp, since at the moment of contact there is an immediate, sudden acceleration of the safety camp.
  • the freely rotatable half of the backup bearing 215 and its opposite side with the rotor 12, 149 are in a chaotic, unstable operating phase.
  • this operating phase is divided into several steps.
  • the opposite side coming into contact pulls the freely rotating ring of the backup bearing 215 with it, and this ring then pulls the rolling elements of the backup bearing 215 with it.
  • a respective relative movement with sliding friction takes place between all elements, i.e. the opposite side, the freely rotating ring of the backup bearing, the rolling elements of the backup bearing 215 and the fixed ring of the backup bearing 215.
  • All elements then reach a stable operating state in which a predominantly non-chaotic Shifting and thus a proper function of the elements take place.
  • various friction conditions, breakaway forces and load peaks of the load are created, which are higher, the higher the acceleration that occurs.
  • the range of motion of the backup bearing play occurs irregularly and depending on the configuration and / or installation orientation of the vacuum pump 10, 111, i.e. depending on the position of the center of gravity of the rotor 12, 149 in relation to the backup bearing positions and / or depending on the spatial orientation of the rotor 12 , 149 to the force of gravity, tilting, staggering movements or generally chaotic, irregular displacements of the rotor 12, 149 in the retainer bearing 215 take place at different rates.
  • the backup bearing play also means that, depending on the configuration and / or installation orientation of the vacuum pump 10, 111, the freely rotating half of the backup bearing 215 and its opposite side perform a rolling movement to one another temporarily or permanently during the backup bearing operation.
  • This phenomenon is known from the field of rotary bearing technology in the case of incorrectly designed bearing points. There, this constellation is called a rotating shaft with a clearance fit on the inner ring and a circumferential load.
  • the rotational speed corresponds to the freely rotating ring or the freely rotating half of the backup bearing 215 does not correspond to the speed of the rotor 12, 149, but deviates slightly from this, since the rolling over to one another causes an additional transmission ratio.
  • the safety camp 215 Since the safety camp 215 is not designed for permanent operation and the service life of a safety camp 215 during the safety camp operation is usually only a few minutes to a few hours, the safety camp operation must be kept as short as possible. Every backup bearing operation leads to wear of the backup bearing 215, both between the contact surfaces and within the backup bearing 215 between the individual elements, i.e. the rolling elements as well as inner and outer rings. In the extreme case, a vacuum pump 10, 111 is no longer ready for operation after a serious malfunction with safety bearing operation and must be repaired before the next start-up.
  • Fig. 8 a schematic block diagram of a method according to the invention is shown, which is used to operate a vacuum pump 10, 111 (cf. Figures 1 to 6 ) is provided which has an actively controlled magnetic bearing 20, 22 for supporting the rotor 12, 149 and a corresponding backup bearing 215.
  • the method can also be used with other vacuum pumps that have an actively controlled magnetic bearing and a safety bearing.
  • the method can be used in a vacuum pump with Siegbahn pump stages.
  • the method 300 begins at 310 with the fact that a fault event is detected in which the rotor 12, 149 leaves a spatial area with respect to the stator that is provided for the rotor 12, 149 in normal operation.
  • the fault event is detected, for example, by means of the magnetic bearing position sensors 26, 28, which detect the radial and axial position of the rotor 12, 149.
  • the failure event can cause wear on the safety bearing 215. Therefore, according to the method, at 310 a wear increment 315-1 associated with the detected fault event is estimated.
  • the estimated wear increment 315 can be estimated, for example, on the basis of the measurement data of the magnetic bearing position sensors 26, 28, which indicate how far the rotor 12, 149 has moved from the position provided for this normal operation.
  • the wear increment 315-1 is estimated on the basis of this measurement data and on the basis of empirical values which are assigned to these measurement values.
  • the wear increment 315-1 is then transferred to a memory 320 which includes a variable for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 and is thus provided for documenting the wear of the backup bearing 215.
  • the memory 320 therefore belongs to the vacuum pump 10, 111 and can be arranged in the vicinity of the backup bearing 215 (cf. Fig. 3 ).
  • the wear increment 315-1 is added or added to the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215.
  • the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 is used during installation or commissioning of the vacuum pump 10, 111 initialized with zero.
  • the wear increment 315-1 and the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 are each represented as a percentage that relates to the maximum permissible wear of the backup bearing 215, at which maintenance of the vacuum pump 10, 111 with replacement of the backup bearing 215 is required.
  • the wear increment 315-1 and the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 each relate to a percentage of the entire service life of the backup bearing 215.
  • a set 330 of operating specifications for the vacuum pump 10, 111 is also provided.
  • the set 330 of operating specifications includes operating states of the vacuum pump 10, 111 that are to be reached when the malfunction event that is detected at 310 occurs.
  • the operating states to be achieved are, for example, "absolutely maintain the vacuum” and “bring the rotor of the turbo molecular pump to a standstill as quickly as possible”.
  • the set 330 of operating specifications for the vacuum pump 10, 111 can, however, include further operating states of the vacuum pump 10, 111 to be achieved which are to be classified between the "extreme states", i.e. between "maintaining the vacuum” and "standstill of the rotor".
  • a control device of the vacuum pump 10, 111 which is located in the electronics housing 123 (cf. Figs. 1 to 3 ), the information from step 310 that a fault event for the rotor 12, 149 of the vacuum pump 10, 111 has been detected.
  • the control device detects the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 from the memory 320 and the set 330 of the operating specifications for the vacuum pump 10, 111 of the operating specifications for the vacuum pump 10, 111 "conveyed". Specifically, based on the value of the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215, it is decided which of the operating specifications of sentence 330 should be implemented, ie which of the operating states of sentence 330 is to be reached for the present fault event.
  • a measure for stabilizing the rotor 12, 149 is being carried out.
  • Such a measure includes that the rotor 12, 149 is brought back into a predetermined spatial position for normal operation of the vacuum pump 10, 111 by means of the active magnetic bearing.
  • the vacuum pump 10, 111 is shut down at 360, with the rotor 12, 149 running down to full stop.
  • a further wear increment 315-2 is determined at 360, which depends on the speed of the rotor at the beginning of full run-down and on empirical values for the wear at full run-down.
  • the wear increment 315-2 for the full run-out is transferred to the memory 320 and added to the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 instead of the estimated wear increment 315-1.
  • the estimated wear increment 315-1 is thus updated by means of the wear increment 315-2 determined for the full run-out, with a difference between the wear increments 315-2 and 315-1 being added to the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215, for example.
  • an updated wear increment 315-3 is determined at 390, which is assigned to the failed attempt to stabilize the rotor 12, 149. Similar to the wear increment 315-2, the updated wear increment 315-3 is added to the variable 325 for the total wear of the vacuum pump 10, 111 instead of the estimated wear increment 315-1.
  • steps 340 to 380 are repeated, i.e. it is first determined at 340 whether a new attempt to stabilize the rotor 12, 149 should be made.
  • a check is also made as to whether the fault event detected at 310 is still present. If this is not the case, the probability increases considerably that stabilization of the rotor 12, 149 will be successful. Accordingly, in this case it is determined at 350 that the rotor 12, 149 is to be stabilized.
  • steps 390, 340, 350 and 370 can be repeated iteratively, the waiting time at 390 being lengthened for each failed attempt to stabilize the rotor 12, 149 .
  • the set 330 of operating specifications for the turbo molecular pump is influenced, as indicated by the arrow 395.
  • a prioritization between the operating states of the vacuum pump 10, 111 to be achieved can be changed in the event of a malfunction on the basis of the value of the variable 325 for the total wear of the vacuum pump 10, 111.
  • the set 330 of operating specifications for the vacuum pump 10, 111 in this case includes not only the operating states to be achieved per se, but also values for prioritizing between these operating states, which can be used at 340 and 350 in order to decide whether a measure should be taken Stabilization of the rotor 12, 149 is to be carried out.
  • the documentation of the wear for the backup bearing 215 is explained in detail using numerical examples for the wear increment 315-1 and the variable 325 for the total wear.
  • the numerical values are representative of a vacuum pump 10, 111, which is a turbo-molecular pump. However, depending on the type of vacuum pump, they can differ and take on values other than those specified.
  • the wear increment 315-1 and the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 each relate to a percentage of the total service life of the backup bearing 215 initially initialized with zero and then with each detected fault event (cf. step 310 in Fig. 8 ) is increased with a wear increment 315-1. If the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 reaches the value of 100%, an error message is output. The value of 100% for the total wear thus corresponds to the expected service life of the backup bearing 215.
  • variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 reaches this value of 100%, for example while the vacuum pump 10, 111 is running down, the variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 is still continued with wear increments 315 until the vacuum pump 10, 111 comes to a standstill. 1 increased in order to document the wear of the backup bearing 215 as completely as possible. This makes it possible for the variable 325 to have a value greater than 100%, for example 130%, when the vacuum pump 10, 111 is at a standstill.
  • variable 325 for the total wear of the backup bearing 215 is initialized with a value of 100%.
  • the variable 325 is reduced by a respective wear increment 315-1 for each disturbance event.
  • this "negative counting method" of the wear increments an error message is output when the variable 325 reaches the value of 0%.
  • the variable 325 can assume a negative value, for example -30%, until the vacuum pump 10, 111 comes to a standstill, in accordance with the above example.
  • step 360 a full run-down of the operating speed of the vacuum pump 10, 111, ie of its achievable final speed, to a standstill while maintaining the vacuum causes a wear increment 315-2 of 41%.
  • This wear increment 315-2 is made up of two components, shown in simplified form. The first component results from the initial acceleration of the freely rotating part of the backup bearing 215 and amounts to 1% in the present example, while the second component results from the actual run-down of the rotor 12, 149 in the backup bearing operation to a standstill and amounts to 40% in the present example.
  • the wear increment 315-2 is also halved to a value of approximately 20%.
  • the full stop of the rotor 12, 149 after adding up the two components leads to a wear increment 315-2 of 21%.
  • a fault event that occurred in step 310 leads to the operation of the fishing camp, can either act temporarily or permanently. If the malfunction event disappears after a short time, the rotor 12, 149 will not run out completely, since a direct attempt to restabilize the active magnetic bearing and the rotor 12, 149 can succeed immediately.
  • the wear increment 315-3 typically consists of three components. The first component results in turn from the initial acceleration of the backup bearing 215 and amounts to 1%, while the second component results from the actual process of restabilization and contributes about 1.5% to the wear increment 315-3.
  • the third component relates to the free run-out of the backup bearing 215 until it comes to a standstill, with a contribution to the wear increment 315-3 of approximately 0.5%.
  • a singular, short-term fault with short-term backup bearing operation in a period of a few seconds consequently leads in the optimal case, in which the restabilization of the rotor 12, 149 by means of the active magnetic bearing is immediately successful, a total of 3% wear increment 315-3.
  • this first attempt to restabilize the rotor 12, 149 is unsuccessful, for example due to a persistent disturbance, further or different wear increments 315-3 occur during the continued backup bearing operation. If the unsuccessful attempt at restabilization is followed by a full run-down of the rotor 12, 149, this full run-down makes a contribution, as explained above, depending on the duration until the rotor comes to a standstill from 20% to 40% to the wear increment 315-2. On the other hand, however, there is no contribution for the discharge of the safety camp 215 after the end of the restabilization, since this discharge does not take place.
  • the wear increment 315-2 for a longer lasting disturbance consists of the following components: i) 1% due to the acceleration of the backup bearing 215, ii) 1.5% due to the restabilization attempt and iii) 20% due to the rapid full run-down with flooding of the vacuum pump 10, 111.
  • the wear increment 315-2 is therefore 22.5% for the present example .
  • a further attempt at restabilization can be made after a predefined period of time or if the speed falls below a predefined speed while the vacuum pump 10, 111 is running down.
  • the predefined period of time is, for example, two, one or half a minute from the start of the safety camp operation, while the predefined speed is, for example, half the operating speed.
  • the renewed attempt to restabilize the rotor 12, 149 can either succeed because the disturbance has subsided in the meantime or because the rotor 12, 149 can be better restabilized at the lower remaining speed due to lower gyroscopic forces.
  • the amount of wear increments 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 depends on operating parameters of the vacuum pump 10, 111, for example on the current speed of the rotor 12, 149 of the vacuum pump 10, 111, the installation position of the vacuum pump 10, 111 and the Condition of the safety bearing 215.
  • the contribution of a restabilization attempt to the wear increment 315-3 at the operating speed of the vacuum pump 10, 111 is about 1.5%, while a corresponding contribution is only about 0.9% at half the operating speed.
  • the contribution of the initial acceleration when entering the backup bearing operation is about 1.0% at the operating speed of the vacuum pump 10, 111 and 0.4% at half the operating speed.
  • For the free discharge of the safety bearing 215 there is a contribution of about 0.5% at the operating speed of the vacuum pump 10, 111 and of 0.2% at half the operating speed.
  • the type of fault event that occurs in method step 310 of FIG Fig. 8 is detected, the form of movement of the rotor 12, 149 and the stator to each other is determined, which triggers the contact of the halves of the backup bearing 215 and thus the backup bearing operation.
  • the type of malfunction event influences the contribution to the wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 that occurs during the initial acceleration of the backup bearing, as well as the probability of performing a successful restabilization. If the form of movement is growing slowly or at least continuously, steadily and possibly even persistent, then initial contact with the camp is rather slow. This gives the backup bearing 215 more time to accelerate the initial acceleration when the bearing load is still low perform.
  • the form of movement is chaotic, impulsive, with high gradients and possibly with a change in sign
  • the reaction of the active magnetic bearing is complex and corresponds to the chaotic overall picture.
  • the first safety bearing contact occurs rather randomly during a strong impulse and accordingly leads to rapid safety bearing contact with high loads. This causes an increased wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 compared to a disturbance with a subsequent slow, non-chaotic form of movement of the rotor 12, 149 and the stator relative to one another.
  • wear increments 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 depend linearly on the rotational energy of the rotor 12, 149 and thus on the square of its speed.
  • contributions to the wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 can be made by various processes as a function of the respective speed of the rotor 2, 149 and / or directly as a function of the currently available rotational energy or of that generated over a period of time Loss of rotational energy due to the operation of the fishing camp can be determined. It is also possible to take into account amounts of energy which are taken from or supplied to the rotor 12, 149 in a manner other than through the backup camp operation.
  • Such amounts of energy are, for example, drive and / or braking energies in or from the drive of the rotor 12, 149 or also fictitiously calculated reductions due to gas friction of the rotor 12, 149 at the respective existing, known vacuum pressures and / or gas quantities flowing through.
  • the contribution to the wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3, which arises from the initial acceleration of the backup bearing at the beginning of a fault with backup bearing operation, can be seen as a singular event with the speed and / or the rotational energy of the rotor 12, 149 as Estimate parameters.
  • this is the period of time and the rotor speed at the beginning and at the end of the period and, if applicable, the progression of the rotor speed over the period of calculation components for contributions to the wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3.
  • a known duration of the free run-out of the backup bearing 215 after the end of a disturbance is used in order to estimate its respective remaining relative or residual speed. If several malfunctions with backup bearing operation occur in short succession, an adapted, reduced wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 can be determined by taking into account the necessary acceleration and thus the speed difference between the backup bearing and the opposite side.
  • Contributions to the wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 which arise from processes with a sufficiently long duration of several seconds or even minutes, can be determined more precisely with the aid of the speed and / or the rotational energy of the rotor 12, 149 as parameters , if a time- and / or speed-dependent calculation formula for the wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 is available and this is integrated over the duration and / or the speed range of the respective process.
  • the processes that make a contribution to the wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 depend in different ways on the speed and / or on the rotational energy of the rotor 12, 149 and the components of the backup bearing 215 and / or on the moment occurring bearing loads.
  • the processes are dependent, for example, on the start and end speeds or the progression of the speed of the respective component and the bearing loads and / or the existing rotational energy as well as the continuous progression of these parameters during the respective process.
  • the existing bearing loads are shown in simplified form, in turn, linearly dependent on the rotational energy and thus squarely dependent on the speed.
  • different bearing loads or proportions of partial bearing loads can generally be used between different bearing locations are present.
  • a cantilevered mounting of the rotor 12, 149 with its center of gravity outside of all bearing points in all installation orientations of the vacuum pump 10, 111, but above all with an axis of rotation of the rotor 12, 149 arranged predominantly horizontally in space, ie at right angles to gravity oppositely acting bearing forces are caused at at least two bearing points spaced apart from one another in the direction of the axis of rotation of the rotor 12, 149.
  • the geometrical parameters of the rotor 12, 149 and the stator of the vacuum pump 10, 111 are known, for example the distances from bearing points, the centers of gravity, the mass moments of inertia or also the natural frequencies and / or the bending-critical modes, it is possible to determine the ratios of the wear increments 315 -1, 315-2, 315-3 per bearing location. Furthermore, if the orientation of the vacuum pump 10, 111 in space is known, ie the direction of the force of gravity acting on the components of the vacuum pump 10, 111, the wear increments 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 can be adapted accordingly, since for example In certain orientations, compared to a standard orientation, there may be increased or lower loads on individual bearing points.
  • the backup bearing wear is alternatively not determined and documented by means of a single variable 325 for the total wear, but individually for each bearing location, for each bearing location effective direction or even for each bearing location sub-segment .
  • a fixed bearing point for example, with a rotational axis arranged horizontally in space, can experience high radial loads and associated wear during the backup bearing operation, while the axial loads and the associated wear are minimal, since the rotor weight in this spatial orientation of the vacuum pump 10, 111 is not axial loads generated.
  • the active position detection (cf. Figures 6 and 7 ) of all axes of the active magnetic bearing, it is also possible to determine the order of the contacts in the bearing point or in the bearing points and / or the first contact point or first contact points based on their position on the circumference of the vacuum pump 10, 111. Depending on the sequence, different wear increments can be determined and documented for each bearing location. A locally limited wear increment of the bearing ring running surfaces can be stored spatially resolved for the first contact point, which always remains at the same location on the circumference of the stationary side of the backup bearing 215, and thus for the first effective direction of the full load.
  • Such storage of the wear increments 315 and the resulting total wear per backup bearing 215 related to the bearing point and / or bearing axes can both be communicated directly to the user and offset by a formula-based calculation to form a total amount of wear or several partial amounts of wear. For example, with a pure maximum or minimum consideration, only the highest or lowest of all wear values per backup bearing, i.e. the worst or best of all partial values, can be defined and communicated as total wear. Furthermore, the total wear can be calculated and communicated in a more balanced way by weighting the various partial values.
  • An error message and / or safe shutdown of the vacuum pump when limit values for wear are exceeded can accordingly not only take place on the basis of the level of total wear, but also or exclusively on the basis of individual or one of the partial values.
  • An internal storage of the various partial values generally enables a later revision of the vacuum pump 10, 111 that a service technician only replaces the really worn elements and / or the elements most severely affected by wear and subjects adjacent or usually affected components to more in-depth checks in order to optimize the quality and efficiency of the revision or maintenance.
  • the emergency supply described above can ensure the continued operation of the active magnetic bearing at least for a limited period of time. If the supply voltage fails, the storage of the respective wear increment 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 in the memory 320 may be disrupted or prevented. An impending failure of the supply voltage can, however, be recognized in good time, e.g. by observing the incipient drop in the supply voltage in front of an intermediate storage device, e.g. a capacitor, which is protected against energy backflow with a diode. If an emergency supply can be activated, for example by means of a regenerative supply, this can take place immediately after the supply voltage fails. A fishing camp operation does not occur in this case.
  • the remaining residual speed of the rotor 12, 149 or other operating parameters such as the residual charge of an emergency battery, may no longer be sufficient for an emergency supply and maintaining the active magnetic bearing.
  • electrical consumers that are not necessary for the active magnetic bearing can be partially switched off at any time during the failure, depending on the operating parameters such as the remaining residual speed or the current regenerative feedback voltage.
  • the electrical consumers in question for the partial shutdown are, for example, interface modules or accessory components. The order and thus importance of the individual elements can be based on advance or dynamically can be determined by operating parameters. For example, an interface module can be switched off later if it has an active data connection.
  • an orderly shutdown of the active magnetic bearing can be carried out before the breakdown of the emergency supply, for example a controlled, slow and gentle lowering of the rotor 12, 149 into the backup bearing 215 and / or a last storage of the Wear increments 315-1, 315-2, 315-3.
  • a predetermined wear increment or a wear increment that is dynamically adapted on the basis of known operating parameters is stored before the actual termination of the run-down or at least stored in a non-volatile buffer memory, so that the final storage when it becomes available again or return of the supply voltage can take place afterwards.
  • the control device of the vacuum pump 10, 111 or the active magnetic bearing can also check each time the supply voltage returns whether the active magnetic bearing was previously switched off when the rotor 12, 149 was at a standstill.
  • a data identifier can be provided in a non-volatile memory, which is assigned a first value for the event of the shutdown in normal operation when the rotor 12, 149 coasts down in normal operation of the active magnetic bearing. The data identifier is reset to a second value each time the rotor begins to rotate. If the data identifier does not show the first value when the supply voltage returns, it is obvious that the last shutdown could not have occurred in normal operation.
  • the operating parameters of the vacuum pump 10, 111 are stored continuously or at least regularly at certain time intervals in a non-volatile manner, it is possible to subsequently calculate wear increments 315-1, 315-2, 315-3 and store them in the memory 320 after a failure of the supply voltage to the variable 325 for the total wear.
  • this procedure places high demands on the memory 320, which on the one hand must store non-volatile data and on the other hand must store data continuously or at least very frequently.
  • the expected service life of the accumulator 320 must therefore be sufficiently long so that it does not limit the entire service life of the vacuum pump 10, 111 more than the wear on the backup bearing or the aging of other components of the vacuum pump 10, 111.
  • the iterative execution of method steps 340, 350, 370 and 390 from FIG Fig. 8 explained in detail using an example.
  • the iterative execution of these method steps corresponds to repeated execution of restabilization attempts, between which the waiting time that occurs in step 390 increases with each iteration.
  • the control device of the vacuum pump 10, 111 additionally comprises two counters which are used to control the iterative execution of the restabilization attempts.
  • the first counter defines the waiting time 390 between two restabilization attempts, while the second counter contains a numerical value that indicates the number of restabilization attempts after the detection of one Fault event (step 310 of Fig. 8 ) reflects.
  • the first and the second counter are initially initialized with 0.
  • a first pump-specific value is assigned to the first counter.
  • the first pump-specific value is multiplied by the current value of the second counter and assigned to the first counter. Since the second counter reflects the number of restabilization attempts, the duration or delay between the restabilization attempts is thereby successively lengthened, as will be explained in more detail below.
  • the first pump-specific value is, for example, in the range from 10 to 99 and should be 10 in the present numerical example.
  • the waiting time between restabilization attempts is successively extended by a multiple of 10 s from the second restabilization attempt.
  • the first counter After an increment, the first counter is decremented by 1 per second, and a restabilization attempt is only made if the first counter is equal to 0. As a result, the first counter controls the delay or the waiting time 390 between restabilization attempts.
  • the control device tries to carry out a restabilization attempt after a respective short period of time, for example every second.
  • a respective short period of time for example every second.
  • the respective restabilization attempt can be delayed by means of the first counter.
  • the first counter is still 0. After the first restabilization attempt, a second restabilization attempt can be made immediately after the first restabilization attempt.
  • the second counter is then incremented with a second pump-specific value, which is, for example, in the range from 1 to 9 and should be 1 in the present numerical example.
  • a second pump-specific value which is, for example, in the range from 1 to 9 and should be 1 in the present numerical example.
  • the second counter thus counts the restabilization attempts after a fault event and is consequently equal to 1 after the first restabilization attempt.
  • the vacuum pump 10, 111 goes over to normal operation, the first and second counters being set to 0 again. However, if the first attempt to restore fails, a second attempt to restore is made after one second because the first counter is still 0.
  • the first counter is assigned the value 10, i.e. the current value 1 of the second counter multiplied by the first pump-specific value of 10, and then the second counter is increased to 2.
  • the vacuum pump returns to normal operation, while the first and second counters are set to 0 again. However, if the second restabilization attempt fails, the waiting time until the third restabilization attempt is 10 seconds, since the value 10 of the first counter is reduced by 1 every second and the next restabilization attempt only takes place when the first counter is 0 again.
  • a certain set 330 of operating specifications (cf. Fig. 8 ) is used for the vacuum pump 10, 111, which includes, for example, the operating specifications "Maintain operation of the vacuum pump” and "Successively delay attempts at restabilization”.
  • the restabilization attempts are carried out iteratively in order to initially prevent the rotor 12, 149 from coasting completely, but the waiting time until the next restabilization attempt is lengthened with each failed attempt at restabilization.
  • the set 330 of operating specifications can comprise a large number of dynamically adaptable operating specifications or sets of rules that react to operating states.
  • These operating specifications can be fixed in advance and change depending on the operating state of the vacuum pump 10, 111 or prioritization by user specifications.
  • the operating specifications can also be carried out and adjusted using adaptive or self-learning algorithms.
  • the control device of the vacuum pump 10, 111 or the control of the active magnetic bearing are unclear about the stopping and the course of the fault event.
  • wear increment 315-2 will occur in the worst case of a full stop of the rotor 12, 149.
  • wear increments 315-3 additionally arising from restabilization attempts can be estimated, as explained above.
  • the type and severity of the disturbance that triggered the operation of the cage camp can also be known from sensor data.
  • the set 330 of operating specifications can also include whether flooding and thus rapid external braking of the vacuum pump 10, 111 is possible, or whether energy can be fed back into the system voltage supply so that the regenerative braking of the Rotor 12, 149 can be done without or via an integrated load resistor.
  • a part of the set 330 of operating specifications can also be specified by the nature of the vacuum system in which the vacuum pump 10, 111 is located, or directly by the user.
  • the contradicting stipulations “absolutely maintain the operation of the vacuum pump” or “minimize the wear of the back-up bearing” can be included, which are prioritized by a user and / or according to the current operating state of the vacuum system or the vacuum pump 10, 111.
  • shut down the vacuum pump as quickly as possible means that no restabilization takes place. Instead, the backup bearing operation and the rotational energy that can be withdrawn from the rotor 12, 149 at the expense of the backup bearing wear represent a possibility of maximizing the braking effect on the rotor 12, 149 and stopping the vacuum pump 10, 111 in the shortest possible time.
  • the rule here is that the wear increment 315-3 of the restabilization attempt must be less than the wear increment 315-2 of a potential full run-out.
  • the full stop of the rotor 12, 149 can be more favorable with regard to the secondary bearing wear.
  • a restabilization attempt at very low speeds can lead to another malfunction event with backup bearing operation, which generates further wear increments 315-1, 315-2, 315-3.
  • the end of a fault is actively detected using the sensors described above, for example. Furthermore, the reduction of the speed and thus of the rotational energy can be awaited, for example by a predetermined value or a value determined proportionally from the operating speed.
  • the waiting time 390 can be specified between attempts at restabilization or can be determined as a function of the operating speed.
  • One or a combination of the above events again triggers a restabilization attempt, which in turn can only take place if its expected wear increment 315-3 at this moment is less than wear increment 315-2 for the remainder of the run-out of rotor 12, 149.
  • a restabilization attempt is triggered immediately if the operating situation of the vacuum system or the user makes a corresponding request.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Non-Positive Displacement Air Blowers (AREA)
EP20205911.9A 2020-11-05 2020-11-05 Procédé de fonctionnement d'une pompe à vide Active EP3832141B1 (fr)

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JP2021127232A JP7209054B2 (ja) 2020-11-05 2021-08-03 真空ポンプを運転する方法

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4137699A1 (fr) * 2022-12-15 2023-02-22 Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG Appareil à vide et procédé de fonctionnement d'un tel appareil à vide
EP4328468A3 (fr) * 2023-12-15 2024-06-26 Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG Soupape et pompe à vide équipée d'une telle soupape

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0467148A1 (fr) * 1990-07-16 1992-01-22 Balzers-Pfeiffer GmbH Dispositif d'admission pour pompes à vide à grande vitesse
US20120063918A1 (en) * 2009-07-22 2012-03-15 Johnson Controls Technology Company Apparatus and method for determining clearance of mechanical back-up bearings of turbomachinery utilizing electromagnetic bearings
EP3473858A1 (fr) * 2017-10-17 2019-04-24 Pfeiffer Vacuum Gmbh Procédé d'optimisation de durée de vie des paliers à rouleaux d'une pompe à vide
EP3653885A1 (fr) * 2019-11-06 2020-05-20 Pfeiffer Vacuum Gmbh Procédé de détermination d'une information d'état dans un appareil sous vide

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US5575630A (en) * 1995-08-08 1996-11-19 Kyocera Corporation Blood pump having magnetic attraction
JP2002295398A (ja) * 2001-03-28 2002-10-09 Boc Edwards Technologies Ltd ターボ分子ポンプの保護装置、及びターボ分子ポンプの保護方法
DE102008033758B3 (de) * 2008-07-18 2009-12-10 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Lageranordnung und Lagerbock mit einem magnetischen Radiallager und einem Fanglager für eine rotierende Maschine

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0467148A1 (fr) * 1990-07-16 1992-01-22 Balzers-Pfeiffer GmbH Dispositif d'admission pour pompes à vide à grande vitesse
US20120063918A1 (en) * 2009-07-22 2012-03-15 Johnson Controls Technology Company Apparatus and method for determining clearance of mechanical back-up bearings of turbomachinery utilizing electromagnetic bearings
EP3473858A1 (fr) * 2017-10-17 2019-04-24 Pfeiffer Vacuum Gmbh Procédé d'optimisation de durée de vie des paliers à rouleaux d'une pompe à vide
EP3653885A1 (fr) * 2019-11-06 2020-05-20 Pfeiffer Vacuum Gmbh Procédé de détermination d'une information d'état dans un appareil sous vide

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4137699A1 (fr) * 2022-12-15 2023-02-22 Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG Appareil à vide et procédé de fonctionnement d'un tel appareil à vide
EP4328468A3 (fr) * 2023-12-15 2024-06-26 Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG Soupape et pompe à vide équipée d'une telle soupape

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JP7209054B2 (ja) 2023-01-19
JP2022075494A (ja) 2022-05-18

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