A New HTS/PMG Maglev Design Using Halbach Array

For the high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic levitation (Maglev) test vehicle in china, the present NdFeB PMG has the symmetrical magnetic field distribution on the upper and lower surface. However, the vehicle only utilizes its upper magnetic field. 50% PMG magnetic field energy goes to waste, so the onboard HTSC arrays haven’t reached the best levitation performance. In order to make the HTS/PMG maglev system more efficient and reasonable, a new HTS/PMG Maglev design has been proposed based on the present PMG and the Halbach array PMG, whose PMG is called as hybrid PMG. Firstly, three magnetic field distributions of three kinds of PMG are compared using FEM. It is found that the magnetic field distribution of the hybrid PMG is more efficient for the HTSC’s maglev. The concentrating upper surface magnetic field is stronger to improve the load capability of the system. Numerical analysis and experiment are close for the present HTS/PMG system. More calculation shows that the bulk YBaCuO HTSC with the hybrid PMG has significantly better levitation performance than that with the other two PMGs. The usage of the onboard HTSC arrays is improved much and the load capability of the HTS/PMG Maglev vehicle is upgraded with the hybrid PMG.