Design and implementation of a magnetic levitation system using phase lead compensation technique

The fundamental objective of this paper is to describe the design and implementation of a magnetic levitation system using phase lead compensation technique. It also verifies the possibility of implementing a system with equipments available in Bangladesh with nominal expenditure. Magnetic levitation is the phenomenon of suspending an object in space using magnetic force. By overcoming the pull of gravitational force, a maglev system can levitate an object into space using a force actuator and proper controlling methods. The theoretical background of the magnetic levitation is studied from mathematical perspective that leads to deriving the model of the main system and the associated controller. The design is carried out using MATLAB, following Root Locus method, with a primary target of levitating a steel ball of 21.6 g at a distance of 1 cm below the coil tip. The system was practically implemented and tested with actual mass. It is observed that the system has achieved the goal by levitating the object at predetermined distance. Moreover, it has been tested for several other masses and the system was capable of levitating all of them which makes it a robust system.