Development of a Linear Motor for Urban Magnetically Levitated Vehicles Using an Innovative Workbench Topology

The normal force that is developed between the primary and secondary of a linear motor plays an important role in Magnetically Levitated (MagLev) trains, since it represents an increase in the load that must be supported by the levitation system. In the particular case of the Superconducting Magnetic Levitation (SML) method, based on the flux pinning property of high temperature superconductors (HTS) in the proximity of rare-earth permanent magnets, this issue is even more critical, as there is no control of the levitation gap, which changes according to the load. The proposed solution for the normal force issue consists of a Linear Induction Motor (LIM) optimized for urban SML vehicles. Analytical equations and finite element methods (FEM) are used. An innovative workbench for movement tests was developed to measure the parameters of interest. Simulation and experimental results show the desired normal forces performance of the proposed LIM.