A research in the application of permanent magnets and solenoids to the planar Maglev system design

This article brings up a new design of a single-deck planar motion Maglev system. The proposed system differs from the conventional double-deck system by not using linear Maglev slideways. It is also simpler in the construction compared to the other single-deck planar Maglev systems. The new planar Maglev system is consisted of an array of solenoid electromagnets and a permanent magnet carrier stage. The system uses the excited solenoids to drive and to position the permanent magnet carrier (Figure 1 is a conceptual draw of the novel single-deck planar Maglev system). The analysis in this research is based on the ANSOFT finite element analysis software that is employed to simulate and to analyze electromagnetic effects between permanent magnets and solenoids. According to the results from the two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations, this paper analyzed the effects of solenoid forces on the carrier magnet. The different magnet dimensions and different solenoid arrangements result in slightly different force variations. With the ability to calculate the force distribution history, the paper then study the effects of various solenoid excitation manners. This research will move on to build a prototype model for experimental verification.