Relationship between magnetic poles and characteristics of revolving permanent-magnet type magnet wheels

Abstract

The authors earlier proposed a revolving permanent-magnet type wheel called the “magnet wheel,” which has the functions of both induction repulsive magnetic levitation and thrust. In this paper, the relationship between magnetic poles and lift force or thrust characteristics is examined to investigate the performance. Five types of magnet wheels are discussed in an experimental study and four more types are used in a theoretical study with three-dimensional numerical analysis. The following parameters are considered: magnetomotive force (mmf) of a permanent magnet; thickness of the magnet in the magnetizing direction; total volume of magnets; fundamental factor; distortion factor of the space mmf distribution of poles; pole pitch; diameter of magnet wheel; mechanical clearance; and thickness and resistivity of conducting plate. The results show the following: 1. The lift force per unit of magnet volume is approximately proportional to the fundamental factor of the space mmf distribution of the poles. A low degree space harmonic mmf is effective in increasing lift force. 2. The driving power per unit of lift force is almost entirely independent of the configuration of the primary member, including pole arrangement and position relative to the secondary conducting plate, respectively, and depends only on the resistance of the conducting plate. 3. In both the “partial-overlap type” and “tilt type” magnet wheels, many poles with sufficiently large pole pitch are useful. In the tilt type the use of a small tilt angle is desirable. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 128(4): 111–120, 1999