Gap Self-Sensing Method for Maglev System Using Partial Electromagnet Coil

The use of dedicated sensor to measure levitation gap in maglev system leads to the problems of large volume, inconvenient installation and high cost. In this article, a gap self-sensing method using partial electromagnet coil is proposed to solve these problems. The entire electromagnet coil provides levitation force, while a small part of the electromagnet coil (the subcoil) on the side facing the levitated object is injected with high frequency excitation for gap self-sensing. The theoretical derivation shows the effects of levitation gap on the impedance of the subcoil. The frequency of the injected excitation and the structure of the subcoil are determined with finite element analysis for high sensitivity. The crosstalk between the gap self-sensing system and the levitation system is suppressed by the designed signal processing based on series resonance. The prototype in this article can cover a gap measurement range of 0-20 mm for maglev ball, with a nonlinearity error of 0.2% and a measurement accuracy of 0.2 mm. The closed-loop feedback control experiment shows that the performances of the proposed gap self-sensing system meet the control requirements.