Thermal analysis of electromagnetic levitation coil

This paper presents analytical and numerical thermal analysis of three different toroidal coils levitated on an aluminum plate. The analytical method consists of a network of thermal resistances that make it possible to estimate the average temperature of the coils. In the numerical method, by using the FEM thermal and magnetic analysis, the average temperature of the coils and the amount of the in-rush levitation current are calculated. All the numerical and analytical results are compared with experimental results and they show very good agreement. The effects of optimization parameters on the levitation system are considered.