Transient Response of Inductrack Systems for Maglev Transport: Part I—A New Transient Model

Abstract

As a new strategy for magnetic levitation, Inductrack systems with Halbach arrays of permanent magnets have been applied to Maglev trains and intensively researched in various projects. In an Inductrack system, the magnetic interaction forces are coupled with the motion of a moving vehicle carrying Halbach arrays, which in many situations results in complicated transient behaviors of the system. In this two-part paper, a new transient model of two degrees-of-freedom for Inductrack systems is proposed. The highlight of this work is that the transient model is developed based on the fundamental principle of physics, without the assumption of steady-state quantities and averaged magnetic forces and with the finite dimensions of Halbach arrays in consideration. In Part I, the transient model is derived through the establishment of a set of nonlinear integro-differential governing equations, and the magnetic interaction forces in the Inductrack system are determined in analytical form. In Part II, the solution of the governing equations, model validation with the previous results in the literature, and transient response analysis via numerical simulation is presented. Although only two degrees-of-freedom have been considered, the approach of modeling and analysis presented in this paper can be extended to general cases of multi-degrees-of-freedom.