Proposal and FEM analysis of superconductive magnetic gradient levitation

A magnetic levitation system that enables a stable levitation even at a standstill without active control has been studied by numerical analysis of electromagnetic field. The new superconductive magnetic levitation system consists of superconducting coils and iron rails, and its principle of levitation is based on a magnetic gradient in space, which is obtained by the flux-conservation characteristic of superconducting coils. A two-dimensional FEM program was used for analysis of electromagnetic force characteristics in a two-dimensional plane and the distribution of coil current. These results show the two-dimensional stability of the system.