Shape Dependency in Levitation System Using HTS and Soft Magnetic Material

It is well known that a ferromagnetic material can be levitated by a field cooled superconductor. This paper presents a new method to model the pinning effect by using a Finite Element Method (FEM). Being comparedwith the experimental results the validity of the presented method is verified. Furthermore, the effect of pole shape on the stiffness of the levitation system is investigated. The relationship between the attractive force and the air gap was numerically analyzed and experimentally measured at both, room temperature (RT) and superconductivity state (77 K). Results obtained from FEM modeling show a good agreement with experimental results. It was found that the stiffness of the system becomes almost double (6 N/mm) when the ring pole is used instead of cylindrical pole with the same surface area.