Topology comparison for a magnetically suspended ceiling actuator

In the paper, a magnetically suspended ceiling actuator is presented that provides magnetic suspension and planar actuation of a moving platform under the surface of a stator. The stator is fixed to the ceiling and consists of four identical segments, called forcers. These forcers create an attraction and propulsion force in order to magnetically suspend and propel the moving platform. Three possible actuator topologies are considered to be used as the forcers, namely a toothless permanent magnet (PM) actuator, a slotted PM actuator, and a PM biased E-core reluctance actuator. All three topologies include PMs and iron such that a passive attraction force is generated between the stator and moving platform. Optimized designs for each topology are compared to each other in terms of the maximum acceleration as function of the total magnetically suspended mass.