POWER DISSIPATION DUE TO VIBRATION-INDUCED DISTURBANCES IN MAGLEV SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS

An important issue for electrodynamic maglev operation is quenching of the superconducting magnets induced by interactions with the guideway. Such quenching limited the velocity of the MLU002 maglev in Japan. Here we study one of the mechanisms by which the SCM-ground coil interactions affect the thermal stability of maglev SCM's. The time-varying forces are determined from the SCM-ground coil interaction and used to drive the vibration of the SCM. The damping of the vibration determines the power dissipated to the conductor and the coolant. The power dissipated within the conductor is used as input to the one-dimensional thermal stability analysis, based on the minimum propagating zone theory. The power dissipation due to the vibration-induced disturbances contributed to the thermal load of the MLU002 conductor, but was not sufficient to quench the magnets.