Influence of track periodical irregularities to the suspension system of low-speed maglev vehicle

The track periodical irregularity is the main external excitation source for the maglev train suspension system. This kind of excitation degrades the stability of the levitation control and decreases the ride comfort. In order to improve the performance of the suspension system, it is necessary to discuss the outputs of the levitation module excited by track periodical irregularities. To explore this problem, a levitation module model contains two suspension units is derived firstly. This model can represent the coupling condition of the suspension units in the levitation module. And then, for further research, based on the levitation module model, a PD controller is designed to keep the levitation module stable. Secondly, by taking the track periodical irregularity as the disturbance input, the outputs characteristic difference of the two units in a levitation module are investigated and several conclusions are obtained. The conclusions provide several advices for the suspension controller design in the next stage. At last, field experiments are carried out and the results illustrating the correctness of conclusions are provided and analyzed.