Takayuki Tohtake

A Study of Vibration Control Systems for Superconducting Maglev Vehicles

The superconducting magnetically levitated transport (Maglev) system is conceptualized as a next-generation high-speed transportation system. For practical use, it is important to achieve adequate ride comfort particularly in high-speed running. Maglev vehicles are composed of lightweight car bodies and relatively heavy bogies which are mounted with devices such as superconducting magnets (SCMs) and an on-board refrigerating system. In this magnetically levitated system, the passive electromagnetic damping in the primary suspension between the SCMs and ground coils is very small. Therefore, it is effective to add active electromagnetic damping to this primary suspension, and to adjust the secondary suspension between the car body and bogie. This paper examines vibration control systems of the Maglev vehicle using actuators for the secondary suspension. Moreover, the estimated electromagnetic damping, which interacts between the SCMs and the guideway, is also considered in the model to improve the ride comfort.