Abstract
In order to find out the influence of suspension form on the medium and low-speed maglev system, first, the transfer functions of the heaving and pitching motions of the two kinds of levitation modules equipped with the two suspensions, respectively, were derived and compared. Second, the coupled-vibration equations of the levitation module, cabin and bridge were presented. At last, two kinds of dynamic models were built to analyse the dynamic performance of the two maglev vehicles. Results show that the effect of the suspension form on the levitation module response is significant, but that on the cabin and bridge is insignificant. The maximum air-gap fluctuation in MVES (maglev vehicle with end-mounted suspension) is about twice that in MVMS (maglev vehicle with mid-mounted suspension) at the speed of 160 km/h. Moreover, the maximum current in MVES is 7.4 A larger than that in MVMS, and the mean power consumption of the levitation system in MVES is 1.2 kW larger than that in MVMS. On the whole, according to the dynamic responses of the two maglev vehicles, the mid-mounted suspension is more conducive to reducing the air-gap fluctuation, current and power consumption of the levitation system.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).