Overview
ISO 14839-1:2018 - Mechanical vibration - Vibration of rotating machinery equipped with active magnetic bearings - Part 1: Vocabulary provides a harmonized set of terms and definitions for rotating machinery that uses active magnetic bearings (AMB). Published as the second edition (2018), this vocabulary standard updates and standardizes language used by designers, test laboratories, maintenance teams and researchers working on vibration, control and magnetic-bearing technology.
Key topics
This part of ISO 14839 is a terminology reference and does not prescribe test methods. Major technical topics defined include:
- Fundamental concepts
- levitation, magnetic bearing, active magnetic bearing (AMB), passive magnetic bearing
- Types of magnetic bearings
- permanent magnetic bearing (PMB), superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB), hybrid magnetic bearing (HMB), permanent‑magnet‑biased AMB
- Geometry and locations
- nominal magnetic gap, clearance centre, magnetic centre, clearance centreline, journal centreline, bearing span
- Bearing construction and magnetic parameters
- number of poles, heteropolar / homopolar types, effective length, projection area, area of one magnetic pole
- Performance and capacity terms
- load capacity (static, peak transient, dynamic), load pressure, total AMB loss
- Control, dynamics and instrumentation
- number of control axes, rise time, dwell time, non‑collocation, self‑sensing AMB
- Rotor and auxiliary equipment terms
- radial rotor core, axial rotor disc, journal diameter, geometrical runout, position transducer runout
The document is structured into sections for general terms, rotor-related terms, stator terms, position transducers, dynamics/control/electronics, and auxiliary equipment.
Applications and users
ISO 14839-1 is intended to improve clarity and consistency across documentation, procurement, design, testing and reporting involving magnetic bearing systems. Typical users include:
- AMB system designers and OEMs (electromagnets, controllers, power amplifiers)
- Rotordynamics and vibration engineers specifying or analyzing AMB‑equipped machinery
- Test laboratories, acceptance and condition‑monitoring teams
- Standards writers, researchers and educators in mechanical vibration and control
Using ISO 14839-1 ensures consistent terminology when specifying requirements, writing technical reports, creating drawings (graphical symbols are included) and communicating across multidisciplinary teams.
Related standards
- ISO 2041 - general terms and definitions of mechanical vibration
- ISO 21940-2 - balancing terminology
- ISO 1101 - geometric product specifications (coaxiality, concentricity, runout)
Keywords: ISO 14839-1, active magnetic bearings, AMB vocabulary, mechanical vibration, magnetic bearing terms, rotordynamics.