Abstract
Variable flux-path magnetic suspension system has been proposed as one of the magnetic suspension systems, which controls the attractive force by moving a pair of control plates located between the permanent magnet and the floator. In this paper, a new variable flux-path magnetic suspension system using flux concentration is proposed. This system has permanent magnet plates as control plates while conventional system has ferromagnetic plates, so that the increase of attractive force can be expected. To verify the prediction, distribution of flux density and attractive force were analyzed by using FEM. These analyses clarified the increase of attractive force and relations between the attractive force and the distance of the control plates. To test the analytical results, an experimental apparatus was fabricated. The measurement results support the analytical predictions.
