MAG01: Magnetic Levitation (MAGLEV)

The MAGLEV setup serves as a simple model of devices, which are becoming more and more popular in recent years such as Maglev trains and magnetic bearings. Maglev trains have recently been designed and built around the world. Magnetic bearings are used in turbines for the same reason for which Maglev trains are being built, the low friction in the bearing itself. Already many commercially used turbines have a rotating shaft that is levitated by magnetic flux. Some other magnetic bearing applications include pumps, fans and other rotating machines. The Maglev systems are appealing for their additional possibility of active vibration damping. This can be done by various control algorithms and without any modification to the mechanical parts of the system. The MAGLEV unit allows for the design of different controllers and their testing in real time using a Matlab/Simulink environment.