Curve negotiation performance of a newly-designed medium and low speed maglev vehicle

Abstract

A newly-designed maglev vehicle, namely maglev vehicle with mid-mounted suspension (MVMS), with air-springs mounted at the middle of the levitation module, has removed the forced guidance device (FGD). However, there is a paucity of research in the curve negotiation performance of the vehicle without FGD. In order to evaluate the curve negotiation performance of MVMS, comparisons were carried out between two maglev vehicles, namely MVMS and the maglev vehicle with end-mounted suspension (MVES). The guidance modes and mechanisms of the two kinds of vehicles were introduced and their curve negotiation performances were analyzed and compared. First, the guidance mechanism of one levitation module on the curved rail was explicated. Second, the walking mechanisms of the two maglev vehicles were introduced, and the guidance mechanism of each vehicle was illustrated. Third, two dynamic models considering rail irregularities, curved rail, and levitation control were built. Finally, the dynamic performances of the two maglev vehicles on the curved rail with 100 m radius, 6° cross-slope angle, and 0.12°/m gradient of the transition curve and on the straight rail were analyzed. Results show that MVES fails to pass the given curved rail, while MVMS can pass it at the speed of 40 km/h. Moreover, on the curved rail, the electromagnet offset, current, and levitation force in MVES are all larger than those in MVMS. For instance, when the speed is 40 km/h, the maximum vertical and lateral electromagnet offsets of the former are about four and 1.6 times those of the latter, respectively, and the maximum current of the former is about 2 times that of the latter. On the straight rail, the mid-mounted suspension can effectively improve the ride stability of the cabin at each speed. Thus, MVMS has better guiding performance than MVES on curved rail and straight rail.