ABSTRACT
Magnetic levitation means controlled suspension and guidance by means of electromagnetic or electrodynamic forces. Magnetic levitation may be performed by dedicated dc fed controlled electromagnets in attraction force magnetically levitated vehicles (MAGLEV) or in direct current (dc) superconducting magnets with air-core active damping coils. This chapter deals with the structure, principles, and the control essentials of dc-excited iron-core active guide-way linear synchronous motors (LSM) attraction force MAGLEV. For active guideway MAGLEVS, in general, LSMs with iron-core three-phase ac windings spread along the entire travel length are used. Though designed for high-speed people movers, the Transrapid MAGLEV may be scaled down to small powers for short-haul industrial platforms. To constitute linear synchronous motor propulsion, the vehicles host dc inductors with controlled electromagnets or dc-superconducting magnets.
