A review of dynamic stability of repulsive-force maglev suspension systems

Vehicle dynamics and the need to satisfy ride quality requirements have long been recognized as crucial to the commercial success of passenger-carrying transportation systems. Design concepts for maglev systems are no exception. Early maglev investigators and designers were well aware of the importance of ride quality and took care to ensure that their designs would meet acceptable ride quality standards. In contrast, the dynamic stability of electrodynamic suspension (EDS) systems, which has obvious implications for system safety and cost as well as for ride quality, has not received nearly as much attention. Because of the well-known under-damped nature of EDS suspension systems and the observation of instabilities in laboratory-scale model systems, it is prudent to develop a better understanding of vehicle stability characteristics. The work reported in this was undertaken with the intention of summarizing information that has been accumulated worldwide and that is relevant to dynamic stability of repulsive-force maglev suspension systems, assimilating that information, and gaining an understanding of the factors that influence that stability. Included in the paper is a discussion and comparison of results acquired from some representative tests of large-scale vehicles on linear test tracks, together with analytical and laboratory-scale investigations of stability and dynamics of EDS systems. This paper will also summarize the R and D activities at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) since 1991 to study the nature of the forces that are operative in an EDS system and the dynamic stability of such systems.