Open AccessScaling laws for electrodynamic suspension in high‐speedtransportation
Author(s) -
Flankl Michael,
Wellerdieck Tobias,
Tüysüz Arda,
Kolar Johann Walter
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
iet electric power applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.815
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1751-8679
pISSN - 1751-8660
DOI - 10.1049/iet-epa.2017.0480
Subject(s) - drag , levitation , magnet , electrodynamic suspension , magnetic levitation , aerospace engineering , halbach array , propulsion , lift (data mining) , eddy current , finite element method , mechanical engineering , mechanics , physics , control theory (sociology) , magnetic field , engineering , computer science , electrical engineering , magnetic energy , structural engineering , control (management) , artificial intelligence , magnetization , quantum mechanics , data mining
Electrodynamic suspension (EDS) relies on the repulsive force created by eddy currents in a stationary conductive body (rail) and a magnetic field generated by an excitation system on a moving vehicle (pod). The excitation system in this paper consists of permanent magnets in a Hallbach array. EDS generates lift forces that levitate the pod reliably at high speeds of the vehicle since no mechanical suspension is required. Therefore, it gains interest for high‐speed transportation applications such as the Hyperloop project, driven by the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). Electrodynamic fields and forces have been analysed in detail in the literature; however, the sophistication and/or limited applicability of analytical approaches or the computational burden of FEM/numerical methods render those impractical for the initial design of EDS systems. Therefore, power and loss scaling laws for EDS systems are derived in this study. A 3D simulation for a design example shows that the scaling law is within 10% deviation. Finally, the drag coefficient of EDS systems is compared with other forms of commercial high‐speed ground and air transportation systems. A pod with EDS running in vacuum has the potential of decreasing energy consumption significantly above the cruising speeds of modern subsonic airliners.