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Inductrack


The Inductrack method was founded by Dr. Richard F. Post of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the late 1990's. The Inductrack utilizes a unique method to levitate the train. Levitation occurs by induced current creating magnetic fields at high velocities. These magnetic fields use repulsion to levitate the train. The only power required to operate the system is the propulsion. The power needed to propell the train once levitation occurs is decreased greatly.

Another aspect of the Inductrack method is that it is self stablilizing. Since the levitation forces are induced, if the train levitates too high, less current is induced, thus stablizing the levitation. Lateral guidance is created by using the same method on the sides of the train.

Figure 1 illustrates a cross section of a train and track that is being used for this project. The left side shows the train stopped or at low velocities. At high velocities, the train levitates as shown on the right side.

Inductrack Train & Track
Figure 1 - Inductrack Train and Track at Slow Velocities and High Velocities

Train:
Top Halbach Arrays - Levitation
Side Halbach Arrays - Lateral Guidance
Bottom Halbach Arrays - Stability for Sharp Turns
Wheels - Supports and guides until the train reaches a velocity in which it will levitate at a hieght greater than the clearance allowed.

Track:
Made of an inductive material to allow current to be induced.



Copyright © 2003 Bradley University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. All rights reserved.