Dynamic Tests of an Optimized Linear Superconducting Levitation System

In a superconducting magnetically levitated vehicle, the conventional wheel-rail system is substituted by a permanent magnet guideway (PMG) made with Nd-Fe-B magnets and carbon-steel interacting with bulk superconductors installed in the vehicle to promote the levitation. The main cost of this levitation system is the PMG. Two geometries that minimizes the total cost, for a given static levitation force (LF_min), are dynamically investigated and compared in this paper. Impulse response on time and frequency domains, stiffness, damping, and oscillation frequency are presented for different conditions. The experimental apparatus is also described.