Experiments and simulations of transportation by LIM for magnetically levitated steel plates

The techniques of magnetic levitation are expected to apply not only to rail ways but also to various fields of industry. As one of such fields, the application to surface-processing lines of steel panels or components is considered. Application of magnetic levitation techniques to such lines has many advantages such as shortening time in processing and improvement in quality of products. However, conventional types of levitation had not solved the problem of back and forth motions of steel plates caused by inertia forces in acceleration or deceleration, because guide-magnets could not be attached for thin steel plates. Our laboratory achieved stable levitation of thin steel plates without any guidance magnets, by means of gravity force in tilting the steel plates. As the next step, a test rig adding propulsion mechanism with LIM (linear induction motor) is proposed in this study. Various experiments and simulations are performed under the proposed control in order to confirm the validity.