Design concept and analysis of a magnetically levitated linear slider with non-contact power transfer

Issue title: Proceedings from the 17th International Symposium on Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (ISEM 2015)

Guest editors: Fumio Kojima, Futoshi Kobayashi and Hiroyuki Nakamoto

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Annasiwaththa, Buddhika Imantha^* | Oka, Koichi

Affiliations: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Buddhika Imantha Annasiwaththa, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi 782-8502, Japan. E-mail:178001h@gs.kochi-tech.ac.jp

Abstract: This paper presents the design concept of a magnetically levitated linear slider with non-contact energy transfer, and an analysis of the major components of the design. An open-end generator is introduced to achieve non-contact energy transfer to the levitated platform. Utilization of non-contact energy transfer will overcome difficulties related to charging batteries. Furthermore, we have proposed an improvement for a hybrid electromagnet to achieve better passive lateral alignment under zero power control. The results of FEM analysis and practical testing show that the concept is promising for further study with a prototype system.

Keywords: Magnetic levitation, non-contact energy transfer, linear actuator, finite element analysis

DOI: 10.3233/JAE-162039

Journal: International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol. 52, no. 1-2, pp. 207-213, 2016