Research of Novel Eddy-Current Brake System for Moving-Magnet Type Linear Electromagnetic launchers

The eddy-current loss can offer an effective and economic method to make a moving object brake. An eddy-current brake system for moving-magnet type linear electromagnetic launcher is studied in this paper. Firstly, the analytical model of eddy current is investigated. Secondly, using the finite element analysis (FEA) method, the influences of air-gap width, stator tooth width and mover velocity on the eddy-current loss is researched. Lastly, some experiments are executed to verify the simulated results. Results show that the proposed eddy- current brake system can work well to brake an moving object under 20 m/s, which can be implied to electromagnetic launcher as a new assistant braking system.