Review of maglev train technology,2011

1 Review of Maglev Train Technologies

By Subhashis Panda.

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engg.

B.N.M.Institute of Technology, Bangalore .

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews and summarizes Maglev train technologies from an

electrical engineering point of view and explains Magnetic levitation power
supply (MLPS), onboard electrical installation for electromagnetic suspension
(EMS) type maglev train. Many researches and developments concerning the
Maglev train have been accomplished; however, they are not always easy to
understand. The purpose of this paper is to make the Maglev train technologies
clear at a glance. Included are general understandings, technologies, MLPS,
worldwide projects and Future of Maglev Technology.

INDEX TERMS:-EDS, EMS, Maglev Train, Magnetic Guidance, Magnetic

Levitation, Magnetic Propulsion, MLPS.

I. INTRODUCTION:-

Maglev is defined as a “family of technologies in which a vehicle is

suspended, guided, and propelled by means of magnetic forces” [1].
Generally, magnets and electromagnets are oriented so that the train levitates off
the track just enough to avoid frictious contact. This same magnetic system or
another one is also used to propel and guide the train by a linear induction
motor. They follow guidance tracks with magnets. These trains are often
referred to as Magnetically Levitated trains which are abbreviated to Maglev.
Although maglevs don't use steel wheel on steel rail usually associated with
trains, the dictionary definition of a train is a long line of vehicles travelling in
the same direction –So it is a train.
Along with the increase of population and expansion in living
zones, automobiles and air services cannot afford mass transit anymore.
Accordingly, demands for innovative means of public transportation have
increased. In order to appropriately serve the public, such a new-generation
transportation system must meet certain requirements such as rapidity,
reliability, and safety. In addition, it should be convenient, environment-
friendly, low maintenance, compact, light-weight, unattained, and suited to
mass-transportation. The magnetic levitation (Maglev) train is one of the best

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

candidates to satisfy those requirements. While a conventional train drives

2 by using friction between wheels and rails, the Maglev train replaces
forward
wheels by electromagnets and levitates on the guideway, producing propulsion
force electromechanically without any contact.
The Maglev train can be reasonably dated from 1934 when
Hermann Kemper of Germany patented it. Over the past few decades since then,
development of the Maglev train went through the quickening period of the
1960s, the maturity of the 1970s–1980s, and the test period of the 1990s, finally
accomplishing practical public service in 2003 in Shanghai, China. [2][5].

It’s a form of transportation that suspends, guides and propels

vehicles via electromagnetic force. This method can be faster and more
comfortable than wheeled mass transit systems. Maglevs could potentially reach
velocities comparable to turbo prop and jet aircraft (500 to 580km/hr). Due to
the lack of physical contact between the track and the vehicle, the only friction
exerted is that between the vehicles and the air. Consequently, maglevs can
potentially travel at very high speeds with reasonable energy consumption and
noise levels. Systems have been proposed that operate at up to 659km/hr
(404mph) which is faster than is practical with conventional rail transport. The
very high maximum speed potential of maglev’s make them competitors to
airline routers of 1,000 kilometer(600 miles) or less.
Hence the future of maglev train technology is bright and challenging for
various countries. A comparison of wheel rail and maglev rail is given below.

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

II. TECHNOLOGY:-
3
While the conventional train uses a rotary motor for propulsion and depends on
the rail for guidance and support, the Maglev train gets propulsion force from a
linear motor and utilizes electromagnets for guidance and support. Fig. 1
illustrates the difference between the conventional train and the Maglev train.

Fig. 1. Comparison of support, guidance, and propulsion. (a) Wheel-on-rail

System. (b) Maglev System.

The technological aspects of maglev train is broadly categorized into 4 types,

they are:
 Levitation
 Propulsion
 Guidance
 Transfer of energy to vehicle
LEVITATION:

Typically, there are three types of levitation technologies: 1) Electromagnetic

Suspension (EMS); 2) Electrodynamic Suspension (EDS); and 3) Hybrid
Electromagnetic Suspension.
To create levitation, a magnetic repulsion force is used to
counteract the force of gravity. The right magnetic material must be used to
achieve levitation. Magnetic materials are classified into three categories:
paramagnetic, diamagnetic, and ferromagnetic [6].
1) Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS):
The attractive electromagnetic suspension (EMS) uses electromagnetic on the
train body which are attracted to the iron rails. The vehicle magnets wrap
around the iron guideways and the attractive upward force lifts the train. The

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

levitation is accomplished based on the magnetic attraction force between a

4
guideway and electromagnets as shown in Fig.2. This methodology is inherently
unstable due to the characteristic of the magnetic circuit. Therefore, precise air-
gap control is indispensable in order to maintain the uniform air gap. Because
EMS is usually used in small air gaps like 10 mm, as the speed becomes higher,
maintaining control becomes difficult. A system is used to maintain this gap and
perform the operation. However, EMS is easier than EDS technically (which
will be discussed) and it is able to levitate by itself in zero or low speeds.

In EMS, there are two types of levitation technologies: 1) the

levitation and guidance integrated type such as Korean UTM and Japanese
HSST and 2) the levitation and guidance separated type such as German
Transrapid. The latter is favorable for high-speed operation because levitation
and guidance do not interfere with each other but the number of controllers
increases. The former is favorable for low-cost and low-speed operation
because the number of electromagnets and controllers is reduced and the
guiding force is generated automatically by the difference of reluctance. The
rating of electric power supply of the integrated type is smaller than that of the
separated type, but as speed increases, the interference between levitation and
guidance increases and it is difficult to control levitation and guidance
simultaneously in the integrated type. In general, EMS technology employs the
use of electromagnets but nowadays, there are several reports concerning EMS
technology using superconductivity, which is usually used for EDS technology.
Development of the high-temperature superconductor creates an economical
and strong magnetic field as compared with the conventional electromagnets
even though it has some problems such as with the cooling system.

Fig. 2. Electromagnetic suspension. (a)Levitation and guidance integrated.(b)Levitation and guidance separated.

2) Electrodynamic Suspension (EDS):

While EMS uses attraction force, EDS uses repulsive force for the levitation.
When the magnets attached on board move forward on the inducing coils or

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

conducting sheets located on the guideway, the induced currents flow through
the 5
coils or sheets and generate the magnetic field as shown in Fig. 3. The
repulsive force between this magnetic field and the magnets levitates the
vehicle. EDS is so stable magnetically that it is unnecessary to control the air
gap, which is around 100 mm, and so is very reliable for the variation of the
load. Therefore, EDS is highly suitable for high-speed operation and freight.
However, this system needs sufficient speed to acquire enough induced currents
for levitation and so, a wheel like a rubber tire is used below a certain speed
(around 100 km/h). By the magnets, this EDS may be divided into two types
such as the permanent magnet (PM) type and the superconducting magnet
(SCM) type. For the PM type, the structure is very simple because there is no
need for electric power supply. The PM type is, however, used for small
systems only because of the absence of high-powered PMs. Nowadays, a novel
PM such as the Halbach Array, is introduced and considered for use in the
Maglev train (Inductrack, USA). For the SCM type, the structure is complex, in
addition, quenching and evaporation of liquid helium, which are caused from
the generated heat of the induced currents, may cause problems during
operation. Hence, helium refrigerator is indispensable for making the SCM
operate. Nevertheless, the SCM type holds the world record of 581 km/h in
2003 in Japan.

Fig. 3. Electrodynamic suspension. (a) Using permanent magnets. (b) Using Superconducting
magnets.

3) Hybrid Electromagnetic Suspension (HEMS):

In order to reduce the electric power consumption in EMS, permanent magnets

are partly used with electromagnets as illustrated in Fig. 4. In a certain steady-
state air gap, the magnetic field from the PM is able to support the vehicle by
itself and the electric power for the electromagnets that control the air gap can
be almost zero. However, HEMS requires a much bigger variation of the
current’s amplitude as compared with EMS from the electromagnets’ point of
view because the PM has the same permeability as the air.

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

Fig. 4. Hybrid electromagnetic suspension.

PROPULSION:

For propulsion of the Maglev vehicle, a three phase AC current induced by a

substation that is connected to the guideway causing a shifting magnetic field.
The IM onboard the vehicles are then pushed and attracted by the shifting field.
Since there is no friction between the vehicle and the platform, the only speed
limiting factor are the thresholds of the components used on the vehicle and the
platform. Fig.5 shows the propulsion diagram of the Maglev vehicle and
platform [7].

Fig. 5. Principle of propulsion

The Maglev train receives its propulsion force from a linear motor,
which is different from a conventional rotary motor; it does not use the
mechanical coupling for the rectilinear movement. Therefore, its structure is
simple and robust as compared with the rotary motor. Fig. 6 shows the concept
of the linear motor derived from the rotary motor. It is a conventional rotary
motor whose stator, rotor and windings have been cut open, flattened, and
placed on the guideway. Even though the operating principle is exactly the same

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

as the rotary motor, the linear motor has a finite length of a primary or
7
secondary part and it causes “end effect.” Moreover, the large air gap lowers the
efficiency.

Fig. 6. Concept of the linear motor from the rotary motor.

1) Linear Induction Motor (LIM):

The operating principle of the LIM is identical to the induction motor. Space-
time variant magnetic fields are generated by the primary part across the air gap
and induce the electromotive force (EMF) in the secondary part, a conducting
sheet. This EMF generates the eddy currents, which interact with the air-gap
flux and so produce the thrust force known as Lorenz’s force. There are two
types as follows.
1) Short primary type (SP): stator coils are on board and conducting sheets are
on the guideway. 2) Long primary type (LP): stator coils are on the guideway
and conducting sheets are on board as shown in Fig. 7. For the LP type,
construction cost is much higher than SP type but it does not need any current
collector for operation. In high speeds, the LP type is usually used because
transfer of energy using a current collector is difficult. In the case of the SP
type, it is very easy to lay aluminum sheets on the guideway and thereby reduce
construction costs. However, the SP type has low energy efficiency because of
the drag force and leakage inductance caused from the end effect. Secondly, the
SP type cannot exceed around 300 km/h on account of the current collector.
Therefore, the SP type LIM is generally applied for the low–medium speed
Maglev trains such as the Japanese HSST or Korean UTM.

2) Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM):

Unlike the LIM, the LSM has a magnetic source within itself as shown in Fig.
7. Interaction between the magnetic field and armature currents produces the
thrust force. The speed is controlled by the controller’s frequency. According to
the field location, there are two types equivalent to the LIM (LP and SP type).
Furthermore, there are another two types according to the magnetic field. One
of them utilizes the electromagnets with iron-core (German Transrapid) and
the other uses the superconducting magnets with air-core (Japanese MLX).
High-speed Maglev trains prefer the LSM because it has a higher efficiency and

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

power factor than the LIM. The economical efficiency of the electric power
8
consumption is very important for high-speed operation.

Fig. 7. Linear synchronous motor (LP type).

GUIDIANCE:

The Maglev train is a noncontact system that requires a guiding force for the
prevention of lateral displacement. As in the case of levitation, the guidance
is accomplished electromechanically by magnetic repulsive force or magnetic
attraction force.

1) Using Magnetic Repulsive Force:

As shown in Fig. 8, by setting the propulsion coils on the left and right sides of
the guideway and connecting the coils, the induced electromotive force (EMF)
cancels out each other when the train runs in the center of the guideway.
However, once a train runs nearer to one sidewall, currents flow through the
coils by the EMF induced by the distance difference. This produces the guiding
force. In the MLX, by connecting the corresponding levitation coils of both
sidewalls as shown in Fig. 9, these coils work as a guide system. When a train
displaces laterally, circulating currents between these two coils are induced and
this produces the guiding force. In the case of the Transrapid, lateral guidance
electromagnets are attached in the side of the vehicle and reaction rails are on
both sides of the guideway. Interaction between them keeps the vehicle centered
laterally as shown in Fig. 11.

2) Using Magnetic Attraction Force:

Magnetic attraction force is generated in the way to reduce the reluctance and
increase the inductance when the vehicle displaces laterally. Because energy
tends to flow toward small reluctance, this guides the vehicle centered laterally.
Since guidance is integrated with levitation, the interference between them
makes it difficult to run at high speeds. Therefore, guidance using attraction
force is used for low–medium speed operation such as the HSST or UTM.

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

Fig. 8 Propulsion-guidance coils used in Japanese MLU-002. Fig.9 Levitation-guidance coils used in Japanese MLX.

Fig. 10 LSM design of Transrapid. (Linear generator is inserted in the levitation electromagnets).

Transfer of Energy to Vehicle:

Even though all Maglev trains have batteries on their vehicles, electric power
supply from the ground side is necessary for levitation, propulsion, on-board
electrical equipment, battery recharging, etc. The transfer of energy all along the
track involves the use of a linear generator or a mechanical contact based on the
operation speed.
1) Low–Medium Speed Operation:
At low speeds up to 100 km/h, the Maglev train, generally, uses a mechanical
contact such as a pantograph. As has been pointed out, this is the reason why
the SP type-LIM Maglev train is used for low–medium speed.

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

2)High-Speed Operation:
At 10
high speeds, the Maglev train can no longer obtain power from the ground
side by using a mechanical contact. Therefore, high-speed Maglev trains use
their own way to deliver the power to the vehicle from the ground. The
German Transrapid train employs the use of a linear generator that is integrated
into the levitation electromagnets as demonstrated in Fig.11. The linear
generator derives power from the traveling electromagnetic field when the
vehicle is in motion. The frequency of the generator windings is six times
greater than the motor synchronous frequency. The linear generator is
mechanically contact-free, as aspect that is very positive for high-speed
operation. However, fluctuation of the induced voltage due to the unevenness of
the airgap, and small magnitude of the induced voltage because of the
miniaturized inducing coils can be a problem. For MLX, beside a gas turbine
generator, two linear generators are considered. The first one utilizes exclusive
superconducting coils (500 kA) and generator coils at the upper and lower sides.
The second one utilizes generator coils between superconducting coils and
levitation-propulsion coils. Because the first one concentration the nose and tail
of the vehicle, it is called the concentration- type. The second one is known as
the distribution-type because it is distributed along the vehicle. With speed,
these coils generate a variable flux in the upper part of the levitation and
guidance fixed coils. Consequently, the lower part (generator coils) sees a
variable flux, which crosses the air gap. The variable flux is coupled with on
board generator coils. In other words, a dc flux created by the on-board
superconducting coils is transformed in an ac flux, on-board, via a linear
transformer.

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

Fig. 11. Transrapid

11

III. ADVANTAGES :

The Maglev train offers numerous advantages over the conventional wheel-on-
rail system: 1) elimination of wheel and track wear providing a consequent
reduction in maintenance costs; 2) distributed weight-load reduces the
construction costs of the guideway; 3) owing to its guideway, a Maglev train
will never be derailed; 4) the absence of wheels removes much noise and
vibration; 5) noncontact system prevents it from slipping and sliding in
operation; 6) achieves higher grades and curves in a smaller radius; 7)
accomplishes acceleration and deceleration quickly; 8) makes it possible to
eliminate gear, coupling, axles, bearings, and so on; 9) it is less susceptible to
weather conditions.

IV. DISADVANTAGES:

However, because there is no contact between rails and wheels in the Maglev
train, the traction motors must provide not only propulsion but also braking
forces by direct electromagnetic interaction with the rails. Secondly, the more
weight, the more electric power is required to support the levitation force, and it
is not suitable for freight. Thirdly, owing to the structure of the guideway,
switching or branching off is currently difficult. Fourthly, it cannot be
overlooked that the magnetic field generated from the strong electromagnets for
levitation and propulsion has effects on the passenger compartment. Without
proper magnetic shielding, the magnetic field in the passenger compartment will
reach 0.09 T at floor level and 0.04 T at seat level. Such fields are probably not
harmful to human beings, but they may cause a certain amount of
inconvenience. Shielding for passenger protection can be accomplished in
several ways such as by putting iron between them, using the Halbach magnet
array that has a self-shielding characteristic, and so on.

V. CONCLUSION:

The Maglev train is considered for both urban transportationand intercity

transportation systems. In the low–medium speed Maglev train, the operating
routine is shorter than the highspeed train. Therefore, EMS technology and LIM
is preferred from the construction cost viewpoint. However, in high-speed
operation, EDS technology and LSM is preferred for controllability and
reliability. In addition, as along with the development of the high temperature
superconductor and new type of permanent magnets, stronger magnetic energy
that is more cost effective will be used for the Maglev train. Authors are sure

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

that this technology can be utilized for not only train application but also
12 launching systems and spacecraft launching systems. The need for a
aircraft
new and better transportation system has encouraged many countries to be
interested in an attempt to develop the Maglev train. However, even though the
Maglev train has been studied and developed for approximately half a century,
Only a few countries have the knowledge and expertise to do so. This review
paper tried to describe the present complete system in detail and summarize
foundational core technologies of the Maglev train from an electrical
engineering point of view. It is certain that this review paper will be helpful for
persons who are interested in this matter to assimilate the Maglev train
technologies including magnetic levitation, propulsion, guidance, and power
supply system. It only remains to be said that besides core technologies, there
is still the need to obtain a better understanding of how various factors may
influence the system. For example, the dynamic behavior of the vehicle with the
influence of the guideway may cause the mechanical dynamic resonance
phenomena; air vibration rattles the windows of buildings near tunnel portals
when a Maglev train enters or leaves a tunnel at high speed; the passenger
safety issue is not considered fully; vehicle vibration generated from the rough
guideway construction also remains. And furthermore, cost-effectiveness is still
undecided.

REFERENCES:

[1] Tony R. Eastham, “High Speed Rail: Another Golden Age?” Scientific
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[3] P. Sinha, “Design of a magnetically levitated vehicle,” IEEE Trans.
Magn., vol. MAG-20, no. 5, pp. 1672–1674, Sep. 1984.
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[6]Model Maglev Train Geoffrey Pleiss May 11, 2009 Menlo School
gpleiss@gmail.com
[7]A brief history and theory behind AC, DC and MAGLEV TRAINS and
SUBWAYS. Timothy Jay Carbino', Malcolm R. Gassman2, Jeffery Glass3, and
M. H. Rashid, Ph. D. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of West Florida.

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore
 Review of maglev train technology,2011

13
[8] Review of Maglev Train Technologies by Hyung-Woo Lee1, Ki-Chan
Kim2, and Ju Lee2. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 42, NO.
7, JULY 2006.
[8] http://www.transrapid-usa.com
[9] www.magnemotion.com
[10] http://www.american-maglev.com
[11] http://www.bwmaglev.
[12] http://www.calmaglev.org
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[19] http://namti.org/
[20]www.google.com/

By SubhashisPanda,BNMIT,Bangalore