Design and Comparison of Radial Flux Magnetic Levitation Systems Based on Conventional and Buried Permanent Magnet Types Rotors

This paper presents design, analysis and comparison of a radial flux 8-slot magnetic levitation system for two different rotor structures. The magnet-less rotor or conventional and buried-magnet rotor topologies are investigated in detail. 1 Dimensional (1D) magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) analyses are performed to demonstrate the fundamentals of levitation for two rotor types. 2D finite element analyses (FEA) are also carried out to compare the two structures and to illustrate the benefits of permanent magnet (PM) rotor. Magnetic levitation prototypes with two different rotor structures are built and tested. Results obtained from MEC, FEA and experimental system illustrate that there exists good agreement. It is concluded that buried-magnet rotor type magnetic levitation system has more benefits as opposed to conventional rotor type levitation system design in terms of current and losses.