Electromagnetic levitation: controllable electromagnetic field is generated by exciting the on-board levitation magnets and the magnets and stator packs of long stator linear motor along the guideway attract each other, thus pulling the train upward and a stable levitation gap being guaranteed by controlling the levitation excitation current. Levitation gap between magnets and guideway is normally controlled to the range between 8 and 12mm.
High-speed maglev system consists of four major components - Guideway, Vehicle, Power Supply and Operation Control System.
Guideway - The guideway guides the direction of the train's movement and bears the load of the train and transmits it to the sub grade. The superstructure of the guideway comprises precisely welded steel or reinforced concrete guideway beams for connecting long stators and substructure constituted by the reinforced concrete piers and foundations
Vehicle - This is the most important part of the high speed maglev system, comprising levitation chassis and the magnets mounted on the chassis, secondary suspension system and vehicle section. Besids it includes such electrical appliances as on-board batteries, emergency braking system, levitation control system.
Power Supply - The power supply system includes substations, trackside feeder cables, switch stations and other power supply equipment. Power supply system feeds the train with the power required for the train operation by energizing the long stator windings on the guideway. First, high voltage alternating current is taken from the 110KV public power grid, stepped down to 20KV and 1.5KV via step-down transformer, then converted into direct current via rectifier, then converted back to variable frequency a c current between 0 and 300Hz via rectifier. After step-up, the current will be fed to longstator winding on the guideway via guideway cables and switch stations, generating propulsion force between the stator and on-board magnets. The rectification equipment, conversion equipment and motor stators etc. of the maglev system are all installed on the ground. No strict requirements for the volume, weight, and anti-vibration of the equipment are available.
Operation Control System - It is the fundamental guarantee for the normal operation of the entire maglev system. It includes all the equipment to be used in security guarantee control, execution and plan and also includes the equipment to be used in communication among the equipment. Operation control system consists of operation control center, communication system, decentralized control system and on-board control system.
Photographed by Asit Baran Das & Bani Das.