Abstract
Many efforts have been made to apply high-Tc superconductors to a variety of levitation systems. A levitation mechanism has already been developed by our group, which consists of a superconductor and a set of alternating-polarity magnets. Such levitation mechanisms make it possible to design new actuators. We have made a new actuator which is levitated using the levitation mechanism and driven by a force between electromagnets and superconductors. The actuator consists of a superconductin slider, electromagnets for driving, levitation mechanisms for supporting the slider. The position of the slider is detected by a Hall sensor. Fuzzy control theory is applied to the actuator. This paper describes the characteristics of the superconducting linear actuator and the effectiveness of fuzzy control.
