Linear Electric Machines, Drives, and MAGLEVs Handbook

Book Preface

According to Aristotle’s Politics written in 360 BC, a society is worth existing if it provides freedom and prosperity to its people. While engineering is arguably one of the main agents of prosperity, the shortage of energy is a major concern on the path to a better quality of life. Electric energy represents about 40% of all energy used today as it enhances industrial productivity and causes less pollution. Electric motion control in industry is ultimately related to electric energy conversion and its flow control.

Linear electric (electromagnetic) machines (LEMs) realize the conversion of electrical energy to linear motion mechanical energy (or vice versa) directly through electromagnetic forces. Linear motion is very common in industry. LEMs were invented in the nineteenth century; however, they gained prominence at the industrial level only in 1960 due to the necessity of using power electronics for control (in the absence of any mechanical transmission).

Typical LEM applications in industry are as follows:

• Magnetically levitated vehicles (e.g., Shanghai’s “Transrapid”)
• Urban people movers (e.g., Dallas-Forth Worth’s Airline Commuter)
• Linear electric motor–driven refrigeration compressors
• X–Y planar motion industrial platforms
• Espresso coffee steamer drivers
• Microphones and loudspeakers in cellular phones
• Digital camera zoomers
• Linear electric generators for deep space missions
• Hotel locker solenoids
• Electric power switch solenoids LEMs are characterized by
• Low initial cost
• Higher reliability
• Adhesion—less propulsion (lighter vehicles: lower Wh/passenger/km)
• Better position tracking (no backlash)

However, to perform better than rotary electric motors with mechanical transmission, LEMs need power electronics for linear position, speed, and/or force control. The steady improvement of LEMs since 1960 is related to new topologies, materials, modeling, design, and testing and control methods; however, the enhanced dynamics of LEMs since 2000 prompted us to write this new, rather comprehensive and practical book.

This book is dedicated mainly to R&D and decision-making engineers in industry and to senior undergraduate and graduate students in electric power, mechanical, robotics, power electronics, and control engineering. It is based mainly on the author’s vast experience in the field (40 years), which includes five books in English published in 1976, 1985, 1987, 1996, and 2001, but also draws heavily from recent contributions to the field worldwide. The book integrates tutorial and monograph attributes. Consequently, it deals with a wide range of subjects from simple to complex, from classifications to practical topologies, to modeling, design, and control and provides numerous case studies, examples, and sample results based on an up-to-date survey of the field.

The contents of the book, covering 22 chapters, clearly reflect this ambivalent (textbook and monograph) nature. Heartfelt thanks are due to my associates Sorin Agarlita, Ana Moldovan, Ana Maria Ungurean, Mircea Baba, and Dragos Ursu, who understood the contents and edited the text with all its equations and drawings, incorporating my corrections into the manuscript. Thanks are also due to the staff at CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group for their competence and patient assistance during the preparation of this book. As with any other book, this book reflects the possibilities as well the limitations of the field. I hope it presents a balanced and in-depth, but practical, treatment of subjects, drawing heavily from R&D efforts worldwide but also giving due attention to personal contributions. I welcome any feedback from the readers. MATLAB® is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. For product information, please contact:

The MathWorks, Inc.
3 Apple Hill Drive
Natick, MA 01760-2098 USA
Tel: 508-647-7000
Fax: 508-647-7001
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.mathworks.com
Prof. Ion Boldea
IEEE Life Fellow
Timisoara, Romania, EU