Free vibration of the high temperature superconducting maglev vehicle model

Free vibration of the high temperature superconducting (HTS) Maglev vehicle model has been investigated after an impulse force over the permanent magnet guideway. The impulse force was used to simulate the external disturbances on the HTS Maglev vehicle so as to study its vibration characteristics. In the experiments, the free vibration curves of time dependence of acceleration and frequency dependence of displacement were measured. It was found that the free vibration curves were some damped free vibration curves which seemed to decrease exponentially. Applying the impulse response curves to the dynamic equation of the HTS Maglev vehicle model, the stiffness and the damping coefficient were evaluated. The relationships between field cooling height (FCH) and the stiffness and damping coefficient were investigated. A 30 mm FCH has been proposed for the good dynamic stiffness and damping coefficient so that the unnecessary vibration of the HTS Maglev vehicle model can be eliminated automatically. The dynamic results are helpful to the further design of the HTS Maglev transport system for high-speed application.