Effect of different connection modes of electromagnets on the performance of levitation control

In medium- and low-speed maglev vehicles, each levitation module contains four electromagnetic coils. In order to find a better coil control mode, the difference between the series connection in the control mode of the first and third coils (M1,3) and the series connection in the control mode of the first and second coils (M1,2) was analysed in this paper. By applying a malposition excitation of +2 mm in the vertical direction of the track for comparing the dynamic adjustment processes of the levitation module (including the vertical motion and rotation) in the two control modes, according to the current fluctuation in the coils in the above processes, the extreme position parameters and the mean current values during the adjustment were obtained. The adjustment process was analysed based on the instantaneous levitation force and the torque of the plate at the extreme positions in different control modes; the performance of the levitation module in the adjustment process and during the fluctuation of the coil current was analysed. The results indicate that for the dangerous ends at the two extreme positions in the selected working condition, the vertical displacement in M1,3 reduces by 11.11 and 48.98%, respectively, compared with that in M1,2. In the whole adjustment process, the mean current of the front and rear controllers in M1,3 reduces by 0.25 and 0.36 A, respectively. Therefore, it has been concluded that with regard to the relative safety and coil heating during vibration of the levitation module, M1,3 performs better than M1,2.