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12/12/2011
Executive Summary
ENPH454 Group Bs objective was to design a miniature model of a Maglev train and track system. The goal was to construct a Maglev system that would be conceptually equivalent to real world engineering scenarios which utilize quantum levitation. The final product was designed to be suitable for display purposes. The propulsion system was designed to control speed and provide braking without contact to the vehicle. A major project restraint was the $600 CAD budget which severely limited the size of both the magnetic track and levitating superconductor train car. The track was three x x magnets (magnetized through the thickness of ) wide, properly oriented and laid out to provide a stable 1.7 m circular track for the superconductor. The one inch diameter bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (BSCCO) superconductor achieved a levitating height of (3.0 0.5) mm and was used in the final design of the car. The total weight of the car was (6.10 0.05) g and was propelled using a modified linear induction motor (LIM) which resulted in an acceleration of (0.32 0.03) m/s2, an average speed of (0.38 0.07) m/s, a maximum speed of (0.84 0.07) m/s, and a total run time of 2:47 minutes. This propulsion system employed magnets spinning on discs which induced eddy currents in aluminum tape on the train car.
Contents
Executive Summary........................................................................................................................................ i List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... iii 1.0 Project Statements & Objectives ............................................................................................................ 1 2.0 Background ............................................................................................................................................. 1 2.1 Levitation Background: ....................................................................................................................... 1 2.2 Propulsion System............................................................................................................................... 2 3.0 Final Design and Justification .................................................................................................................. 2 3.1 Car Design ........................................................................................................................................... 2 3.2 Track Design ........................................................................................................................................ 3 3.3 Propulsion System............................................................................................................................... 4 4.0 Construction of Prototypes ..................................................................................................................... 5 4.1 Car Prototype ...................................................................................................................................... 5 4.2 Propulsion System............................................................................................................................... 5 5.0 Test Results and Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 6 5.1 Average Running Velocity ................................................................................................................... 6 5.2 Running Time ...................................................................................................................................... 7 5.3 Maximum Velocity .............................................................................................................................. 7 5.4 Average Acceleration/Force ............................................................................................................... 7 5.5 Levitation Height ................................................................................................................................. 8 6.0 Troubleshooting and Remediation Efforts .............................................................................................. 9 6.1 Track .................................................................................................................................................... 9 6.2 Propulsion System............................................................................................................................... 9 7.0 Reflections............................................................................................................................................... 9 8.0 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 10 9.0 Annex ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 9.1 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................... A1 9.2 References .................................................................................................................................... A1 9.3 Budget ............................................................................................................................................... A2 9.4 Appendix ........................................................................................................................................... A3 9.5 Safety Protocols and Incidence Reports ........................................................................................... A4 9.5.1 Safety Protocols ............................................................................................................................. A5 9.5.2 Safety Issues ................................................................................................................................... A6
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List of Figures
Figure 1 - Final design for train car. .............................................................................................................. 3 Figure 2 - Track configuration ....................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 3 Final Propulsion System ............................................................................................................... 4 Figure 4 - Initial car body dimensions and isometric view of initial car design ............................................ 5 Figure 5 Initial LIM propulsion system. ...................................................................................................... 6 Figure 6 - Average running velocity of the train car ..................................................................................... 7 Table 1 - Summary of recorded data and initial goals. ................................................................................. 8 Table 2 - Budget summary for Group Bs model Maglev train project ....................................................... A2 Figure 7 - Plot of the maximum speed illustrating the spread in the data. ................................................ A3 Figure 8 - Plot of the average acceleration data. ........................................................................................ A3 Figure 9 - Plot of the average force data. ................................................................................................... A4 Figure 10- Gantt chart showing project progress ....................................................................................... A4
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2.0 Background
2.1 Levitation Background:
Levitation of the train body is achieved through the use of a liquid nitrogen cooled superconductor. When a superconductor is cooled below its critical temperature, Tc, it behaves as a perfect diamagnet with zero electrical resistance. It is able to expel nearly all of the magnetic flux. The expulsion of the magnetic flux causes a force on the superconductor. This force ( ) can be found by integrating the Maxwells Stress Tensor ( ) throughout the surface or an equivalent volume integral through the use of divergence theorem 1,
This integral was performed through use of computer software in this project. Maxwells Stress Tensor is a rank 2 tensor with its elements given by the following formula (for magnetism only) 1 :
If the superconductor is modeled as a perfect diamagnet (r = 0), this force would not completely accurate as it would not account for flux pinning, an effect only seen in high temperature superconductors. Flux pinning allows magnet flux to penetrate through material imperfections and will alter the Maxwell Stress Tensor, which ultimately causes a decrease in force. The London Equations combined with Amperes Law gives a second order differential equation that describes the magnetic field within the superconductor 2,
In the above equation is called the London Penetration Depth, and is a material parameter. It is one reason why some superconductors have stronger levitating force than others. A material with a very small will attenuate the magnetic field to zero at a shorter depth within the material, and will result in a stronger levitation force.
In the equation above, B is the magnetic field, is the conductivity of the material, and J is the current density that is induced. In the case where the non-uniformity of the magnetic field is generated by a moving permanent magnet, this equation can be further refined in terms of the velocity of the permanent magnet and the gradient of the magnetic field as by the chain rule,
direction. The current density, J, alters the B-field around the conducting material and in turn produces a coupled force between the permanent magnets and the conducting material.
seen in figure 1. The underside of the lid was constructed to have small protrusions to press the superconductor to the bottom of the car. Aluminum tape was used to secure the lid to the car body as well as to provide a conductive surface for use with the propulsion system. The final car design is much smaller and simpler than the prototype.
Figure 1 - Final design for train car. The hole into which the liquid nitrogen is poured is visible as are strips of aluminum tape.
Figure 2 - Track configuration. The train travels smoothly in the x direction as the magnetic flux density is relatively uniform.
Various modelling and testing was performed on the stability of different magnet configurations and it was determined that a NSN configuration as seen in figure 2 would provide the required stability with the maximum lifting force. All two-magnet-wide configurations were rejected due to lack of stability. Computational modelling in Finite Element Magnetic Methods (FEMM) and with COMSOL supported this NSN configuration despite greatly exaggerating the magnetic forces involved. However, the trend and directionality of the modeling agreed with observations. The superconductor is kept in the centre of the track as there is a local minimum of the magnetic flux density at that location. The N-45 magnets have the dimensions x x . Larger magnets ( x 1 x 1) were tested, but it proved that these larger magnets did not create a very uniform magnetic flux density on the scale of the size of the superconductor. The gradient of the magnetic flux density causes a loss of energy in the superconductor due to flux-pinning.
Steel sheets were added to increase the strength of the magnetic field above the magnets and to decrease the spacing between them. These plates not only crimp the field, but permit the magnets to be placed closer together allowing the magnetic field to become more uniform.
Figure 3 Final Propulsion System. The permanent magnets along the outside of the disc alternate polarity (N and S) in order to maximize the gradient in the magnetic field.
The orientations of the magnets alternate to maximize the gradient in the magnetic field, which in turn maximizes the induced eddy currents. Aluminum tape was also attached to the sides of the train car to serve as a lightweight conducting material for eddy current generation. These induced eddy currents will generate their own magnetic field to oppose the change in magnetic field that is being experienced due to the velocity of the permanent magnets relative to the aluminum tape. This can be interpreted as the train car wanting to remain beside the same permanent magnet for the duration that it is in between the spinning discs. To do this, the train car must accelerate (or decelerate) to match its speed with the tangential speed of the permanent magnets on the edge of the disc. As a result of this, the speed of the train car can be controlled by varying the rotational speed of the discs with the motor controller. The spinning disc design was chosen over the linear induction motor for a number of reasons. Chief among them was the fact that the permanent magnets used had a much stronger magnetic field than could be produced with the coils in the LIM. The spinning disc design also allowed speed to be controlled more easily by varying the rotational speed of the discs and with the aid of a reversible motor 4
controller, braking could also be achieved. In order to achieve this with the two phase LIM, it would have been necessary to precisely control the frequency of oscillation as well as the current through the coils.
Figure 4 - (left) Initial car body dimensions. (right) Isometric view of initial car design
0.45 0.4 0.35 Speed (m/s) 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Pass Number (#)
Figure 6 - Average running velocity of the train car. An expected speed profile is shown.
to be (0.32 0.03) m/s2. The average force was found to be (2.3 0.3) mN. The force seems quite small, but due to the small mass of the train car, this is more than enough to propel the car around for an entire lap.
Goal Acceleration (m/s2) Average Speed (m/s) Maximum Speed (m/s) Levitation Height (mm) Train Mass (g) Run Time (min) 0.25 0.500 5 <300 1-2
Achieved 0.32 0.03 0.38 0.07 0.84 0.07 3.0 0.5 6.10 0.05 2:47
7.0 Reflections
In review of this project, there are a few things that could have been done differently. During the magnet testing phase, multiple test sets could have been ordered at once to streamline the process. This would allow for the magnets to be tested at the same time, instead of one after another. Upon testing of the two superconductors that were purchased, the BSCCO was clearly a better material for levitation than YBCO. In the end the YBCO was not used in the final construction of the train car due to its low critical temperature and higher density, making it an unnecessary expense other than for 9
testing and comparison purposes. This portion of the budget could have been used to purchase another BSCCO superconductor or to extend the track through purchasing more magnets. One area of future work would be to make the system more automated. The motor controller could be computer controlled which would allow for precise speed control and automated braking.
8.0 Conclusions
Overall the project was a success. A type II superconductor was used to create a levitating train that travels along a track of permanent magnets. The train was accelerated and decelerated using a single non-contact system. Four out of five of the original five design objectives were met. The only objective which was not achieved was the levitation height. The expected levitation height of 5 mm was based on the modelling, which was later found to be a severe overestimate. The achieved height of 3 mm was still sufficient to meet the rest of the design goals. The project was under budget and finished on schedule as seen in the Gantt chart in the appendix. Safety was considered in all parts of the design; most notably, barriers were included near any moving parts. The overall design was transparent to ensure that the functionality would be apparent to allow usage as a demonstration.
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9.0 Annex
9.1 Works Cited 1. Griffiths, D., Indtroduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd ed. (Pearson Addison-Wesley, New Jersey, 1999). 2. London, F. L. a. H., Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (1935). 3. Strehlow, C. P. & Sullivan, M. C., A Classroom Demonstration of Levitation and Suspension of a Superconductor over a Magnetic Track. Department of Physics, Ithaca College (2008). 4. Yang, W. M., Zhou, L., Yong, F., Chau, X. X. & Bian, X. B., A small Maglev car model using YBCO bulk superconductors. Semiconductor Science and Technology 19, S-537 to S-539 (2006).
9.2 References
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9.3 Budget
Table 2 - Budget summary for Group Bs model Maglev train project
Item
Description
Cost
1 x 2.5 cm YBCO disc. 1 x 2.5 cm BSCCO disc. 2x rare earth magnets 1 x non-magnetic tweezers and manual
1/8 x 1/2 x 1/2, N45, Ni coated magnets. Magnetized through thickness (1/8)
1/8 x 1/2 x 1/2, N45, Ni coated magnets. Magnetized through thickness (1/8)
Item Value $352.00 Shipping/Handling $23.50 Total $375.50 TOTAL COSTS - $586.50
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9.4 Appendix
Data Points 1.2 1 Speed (m/s) 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pass Number (#) Average
Figure 7 - Plot of the maximum speed illustrating the spread in the data.
Experimental 0.45 0.4 Acceleration (m/s^2) 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 0 2 4
Avg
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3.5 3 2.5 Force (mN) 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 Pass Number (#) Experimental Average
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release form and a incident report form. These protocols and forms are discussed below. Lastly, safety issues that arose throughout the project are also discussed below.
Additional forms were created for safety purposes by the Maglev Team. The first form was a safety release form that outlined every member of the team filled out to ensure that they had read and understood the safety protocols, procedures and MSDSs of all the hazardous materials present at the project location. The second form was a blank incident report form to be filled out in the event of a safety related injury. A copy of the two forms can be found in Safety Protocols and Incident Reports Section in the annex of this report. The Maglev Train team would like to proudly announce that there were no safety injuries throughout the duration of the project.
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The precautions listed here are found on Purdue's chemistry department website at <http://www.chem.purdue.edu/chemsafety/chem/ln2.htm>
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Safety Precautions with Neodymium Magnets Handling Ingestion of neodymium magnets is extremely hazardous. If magnets are ingested or inhaled into the lungs, immediate medical attention is required. Neodymium magnets are fragile and can shatter easily. Neodymium magnets are powerful and can accelerate at high rates toward one another or other ferrous material and can shatter on impact creating high speed particles. If skin is caught in between two magnets or a magnet and a ferrous material will pinch strongly causing injury. Gloves and Safety glasses/goggles should be worn when handling neodymium magnets. Very large neodymium magnets pose a crushing hazard and should not be handled. Magnets should never be used to lift objects over people. The magnetic field produced by neodymium magnets can damage electronic equipment and storage devices. Keep laptops, credit cards, USBs and other electronics away from the magnets. DO NOT burn neodymium magnets as they can ignite and burn at high intensities. DO NOT drill or machine neodymium magnets as hazardous flammable powder may form and the risk of shattering is elevated. DO NOT use neodymium magnets in contact with food and other ingestible liquids. Neodymium magnets are susceptible to oxidization. Dispose of oxidized magnets.
Health Effects Individuals with internal medical devices should consult their physician prior to handling neodymium magnets as the static magnetic fields may affect the operation of the device.
Disposal Neodymium magnets should be disposed according to local, provincial and federal laws. Thermally demagnetize neodymium magnets before disposal. Alternatively place magnetized magnets in a steel container prior to disposal.
Information in this document is provided by National Imports Magnetic Products Division, which is a US based company specializing the production of rare-earth magnets. <http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/t-safetyinformation.aspx>
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Liquid Nitrogen (Check all that apply): Have you read the safety protocol? Have you read the safety precautions? Are you aware of the PPE required? Are you aware of the dangers?
Note: If not all the above boxes are checked you will not be allowed to handle Liquid Nitrogen. Neodymium Magnets (Check all that apply): Have you read the safety protocol? Have you read the safety precautions? Are you aware of the PPE required? Are you aware of the dangers?
Note: If not all the above boxes are checked you will not be allowed to handle Neodymium Magnets. Other Hazards: For all other hazards (high voltages, high speed masses, etc.) consult a teaching assistant, professor or qualified technician to ensure safety is maximized before proceeding. Any conditions in which the hazards are unknown should also be examined by a qualified person.
I ___________________ hereby agree, that by checking the above boxes I am aware of the hazards associated with the materials in and around the Maglev Train area. I also agree that any injury resulting in my failure to abide by the precautions and protocols is my own fault and does not hold the Safety Officer accountable as I was informed of the hazards.
Team Member Signature: ________________________ Date: _______________________ Safety Officer Signature: _________________________ Date: _______________________ A10
Where did the injury occur? (i.e student shop, lab): ______________________________ Detailed explanation of what caused the injury:
Comments:
Team Member Signature: ________________________ Date: _______________________ Safety Officer Signature: _________________________ Date: _______________________ A11