Experimental study on thrust and normal force of a permanent magnet linear synchronous motor

Permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (PMLSM) has important applications in transportation and industrial control systems for its direct thrust and high power density, etc. Thrust and normal force are the most important criteria for the PMLSM, and numerical methods and finite element analysis (FEA) methods have been conduced to evaluate the forces. In this paper, a prototype has been built to measure the thrust and the normal force of a PMLSM Through investigations with experiments, the traits of the thrust and the normal force have been found out, including the trends versus exciting currents with different amplitudes, different air gap lengths, variable magnetic poles, and different magnet arrangements. Conclusions are drawn through experimental analysis benefit to the electromagnetic design and control scheme evaluation for the PMLSM.