Miniaturizing 5-DOF fully controlled axial gap maglev motor for pediatric ventricular assist devices

Abstract

An axial gap maglev motor with double stators that can control five-degrees of freedom (5-DOF) of rotor postures has been newly developed for pediatric ventricular assist devices (VADs). The motor has two stators that have an identical structure and a levitated rotor. The rotor is levitated magnetically between the stators and is driven by the mechanism of a synchronous permanent magnet motor. A double-stator structure achieves active 5-DOF posture control and enhances torque production. In this paper, a maglev motor as an actuator of pediatric VAD has been designed and miniaturized based on magnetic field FEM analysis. The performance of the maglev motor, the static magnetic suspension force and the torque of the developed motor, is measured experimentally and is sufficient for stable levitation and rotation.