Analysis and Experiment on the Levitation Force and Thrust Force Characteristics of a Permanent Magnet Electrodynamic Wheel for Maglev Car Application

The traditional permanent magnet electrodynamic suspension (PMEDS) structure has a high cost and low lift to drag ratio caused by sizeable magnetic resistance, which limits its widespread use. Hence, an annular Halbach structure of permanent magnet electrodynamic wheel (EDW) is studied in this paper, which is able to convert the magnetic resistance into the thrust force and avoid extra energy consumption, thus have the potential to be applied into the maglev car system. This paper established an experimental platform to measure the levitation force and thrust force of the EDW, then the force characteristics and variation tendencies were analyzed. Next, to verify the effectiveness and accuracy of the experiment, the comparison between force results from the experiment and that from the 2D FEM simulation were studied. Eventually, this paper lays a foundation for further research on the dynamic levitation characteristics of the EDW. And it provides an individual experimental basis and theoretical guidance for the study of maglev cars based on the PMEDS principle.