ECE4007 Project Summary

Project Title Team Members (names and majors)

Small-Scale Maglev Train Ben James, EE Nathan Black, EE Vivek Kumar, EE Preston Rhea, EE Greg Koo, EE Prof. Kenney, L01 2009 Spring Final

Advisor / Section Semester Project Abstract (250-300 words)

We designed and constructed a small-scale working maglev train and track. It is designed to demonstrate to interested parties, such as contractors, engineers, and businesspeople how maglev works and to encourage the use of maglev technology in future infrastructure projects and developments. The current design was built with $523. The project completed its revised aims of getting a small maglev train to be propelled down a track with measurable stability. Maglev has several fundamental advantages over regular rail transit systems. Our maglev system is made out of permanent magnets, which greatly improves the cost effectiveness of laying track and decreases the complexity in terms of supplying electricity. In an ideal commercial-scale maglev implementation, because there is no friction or moving parts, maglev trains can run at a fraction of the power required for conventional wheeled trains, their potential maximum speed is much higher, and the cost of maintenance is greatly reduced. Also, as there is no combustion or fuel use on-board the train, the train produces no pollution in its area of use. Our design was not able to incorporate frictionless full magnetic levitation within the given time and budget. Instead, the magnets on the train attract to a magnetic track and roll along it, utilizing the magnetic field for stabilization. We anticipate that future groups can incorporate full magnetic levitation into their project. Due to its lower requirements for power, its greatly reduced maintenance costs, and its high speed potential, maglev is a smart investment for new infrastructure and updating infrastructure. The tracks for maglev can be built in existing rail rights-ofway, so updating old infrastructure does not require costly and politically difficult land rights purchases. As maglev technology becomes more commonplace and customer confidence in its operation grows, the investment in and production of maglev technology will reduce the price of implementing a maglev transportation system.

Project Title

Small-Scale Maglev Train

List codes and standards Due to the current state of maglev still being primarily theoretical, there are no and standards involved in this project. Once the technology becomes that significantly affect codes implemented commercially, the codes and standards will be developed. your project. Briefly describe how they influenced your design.

List at least two significant realistic design constraints that applied to your project. Briefly describe how they affected your design.

The largest constraints for our design were the amount of smooth AC current we could produce from the AC drive to make the linear synchronous motor run, and the amount of labor, precision, copper wire, and time it took to wind the linear synchronous motor itself. The total size of the track had to be limited due to the cost of copper wire and the amount of time it would have taken to wind more of the track. Also, with the AC drive we were able to procure, we were just barely able to produce a high enough level of current to make the linear synchronous motor work with the magnets. An AC reactor was used to smooth the LSM drive current.

In order to construct a working scaled model of a maglev train, we had to determine Briefly explain two which one of various methods we could use. In choosing the method, we went for significant trade-offs cost over efficiency because ensuring a low cost was a factor in our decision. We considered in your design, decided to buy permanent magnets and coils that were within the price range instead of going with alternatives that may have worked better but for a higher price. including options Secondly, we had to remove the goal of having the train levitate with magnets, as considered and the this was not attainable due to the cost, time, size, and science of what we had. solution chosen.

There is no software involved in the project because the train is propelled and kept Briefly describe the stable by changing magnetic fields created by a commercial AC drive. computing aspects of your projects, specifically identifying hardwaresoftware tradeoffs, interfaces, and/or interactions.

Complete if applicable; required if team includes CmpE majors.

ECE4007: International Program

(Only groups with one or more International Program participants need to complete this page)

Project Title Global Issues (Less than one page)

Small-Scale Maglev Train Maglev technology is an inherently international technology. It has its roots partly in the US, but more deeply and practically in the UK and Germany, where the famous firm Transrapid developed the first maglev train line for passenger transport. After that, the airport of Birmingham, UK implemented a low-speed maglev line for transport between the airport and the main rail station. The two most famous implementations of maglev technology are in Japan, where they have developed two home-grown technologies for their rail and plan to offer intercity maglev transport by 2025, and in the Shanghai airport line in China, where Transrapid developed a 30km line to transport people from Pudong airport to the main metro rail network. The involvement of the German firm Transrapid in developing the Shanghai line is only one indication of the global future that maglev technology has. Although maglev is not rolling out at a sustained pace right now, the complex technological nature of it, as well as the transformations it can bring in the transportation sectors impact to the environment, sustainability, and energy consumption are at the heart of its necessarily international nature. As the global economy continues to evolve and some countries become specialized in design and technological innovation (the US, Western Europe, Japan) and others in materials harvesting and manufacturing (China, Eastern Europe), maglev is one such technology where inevitably the innovations in the technology will occur in the first group, while the manufacturing expertise and cost-reduction through material innovation will occur in the latter. Furthermore, as climate change is a global issue that cannot simply be tackled at a local or regional level, the fundamental underpinnings of maglev technology mean it is the best way forward to connect our neighborhoods and our cities to one another. As there is no friction, much less energy is required to bring the train up to high speeds, speeds that at medium distances make maglev trains rival the effectiveness of airplanes. Airplanes produce 3.5% of the global carbon footprint every year, so if maglev trains can be developed and implemented to provide people with a great incentive to use them instead of airplanes, a significant part of a global problem will begin to be solved. The more developed countries should take up the challenge of looking at maglev for developing or replacing their rail infrastructure to enhance regional and international trade, encourage the movement of more people for economic, social, and cultural purposes, and especially to create a more sustainable transportation infrastructure both for its own sake and for the sake of the health of the planet, and by extension, the health of our communities.