Scaling Behavior of Levitation and Dragging Force in Electrodynamic Suspension Systems

The geometrical and velocity scaling behavior of levitation and dragging forces in Electrodynamic suspension (EDS) systems was studied by both analytical and numerical methods, to provide comparisons between designs for both on-board and ground-mounted magnetic components. Effects of system dimension, levitation gap, magnetic field dependence of critical current density, and vehicle velocity were studied. The lift-to-self-weight ratio of two realistic EDS systems and their geometrical scaling were studied numerically.