Electromagnet

Abstract

Of the types of magnetic levitation systems proposed, electromagnetic attraction systems are currently the most widely used in various applications. As such, most of the research on magnetic levitation has been focused in this area. An electromagnet simply consists of a ferromagnetic core, such as steel, and a current-carrying winding wound on the core. While the manufacturing and operation of the magnet is relatively easy, a sophisticated feedback control system needs to be incorporated to maintain a constant separation between the pole face of the magnet and the ferromagnetic reaction surface. This control requirement is the disadvantage over the permanent and superconducting systems. Although interdisciplinary research is needed to achieve stabilization, the motion controllability of the electromagnetic systems would be a primary advantage, even for high precision applications. This chapter presents the basis for the design, analysis and implementation of the electromagnetic systems. The performance requirements, design considerations, magnet design procedure, control scheme, control and measurement and electronics are briefly introduced. Though the applications of the electromagnet are focused on vehicles, the topics covered in the chapter are highly transferrable to other applications, without any additional effort.