See: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=BTuCshX5bc0&t...
They would still need to include a light thrust bearing on the double rotor design since you can never assume perfectly balanced air gap and one side or the other will dominate, but the losses would be much lower with that setup.
Also, during operation, is not each magnet in the motor being simultaneously pulled by the pole it is moving towards, and pushed by the pole it is moving away from? If so then, at any given point in the rotation, the axial force would be the net of the two effects.
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Conclusion... ...Based on the results presented herein, the RFPM machine still appears as a better choice for a direct-drive generator, than the AFPM machine with slots"