Identification of Empirical Models for a Superconductor-Based Magnetic Levitation Module

Magnetic levitation is a promising technology for multiple types of industrial applications. The use of superconductors has various benefits over electrical magnets, like large levitation gaps, superior energy efficiency and an inherently stable system. The integration of a superconductor-based levitation module to an industrial handling system would allow a decoupling of motion system and load and a frictionless motion of the load. The drawback of these systems are the motion induced oscillations of the load due to the non-stiff coupling of superconductor and load. To develop control algorithms that counter-act oscillations a model is necessary to predict oscillations induced by motion as well as the effect of stabilizing actors. As the underlying physics of superconductors and magnetic forces are a research field of their own and computation algorithms that solve these equations are complex the modeling approach presented uses simple empirical models, based on the resonance frequencies of the system. Furthermore, experimental parameter identification is done and the resulting system equations are successfully validated.