Study on Electrodynamic Suspension System with High-Temperature Superconducting Magnets for a High-Speed Maglev Train

For the electrodynamic suspension (EDS) system in the high-speed magnetic levitation (Maglev) train, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coils made of ReBCO-coated conductors can be used as levitation magnets. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3-D) model of the HTS EDS system is built for the design of the suspension system of a full-scale high-speed Maglev train. Subsequently, the levitation and drag forces are analyzed using finite-element method (FEM), and the force performances of different operating currents, reaction board thicknesses, and air gap lengths are investigated. And the distribution of the eddy current on the reaction board induced by the moving HTS magnets is obtained. Moreover, according to the eddy current distribution and force analysis results, a mirror image method is proposed to simplify the calculation and accelerate the estimation of the saturated levitation force of an HTS EDS system. The calculation results of the model are verified by the FEM model with an error less than 8%. Finally, the model is expanded to a full-scale HTS EDS system, which validates the feasibility of applying to the high-speed Maglev train.