The 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS)

Influence of Different Types of Mover on the

Thrust Characteristics of Long Stator Ironless
Permanent Magnet Synchronous Linear Motor1
Guangqingyue Yang1,2, Yumei Du1,2*, Ruihua Zhang1, Qiongxuan Ge1,2, Zhenggang Yin1,
Huihuang Wang1,2
1. Key Laboratory of Power Electronics and Electric Drive, Institute of Electrical Engineering
2. School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering
1. Chinese Academy of Sciences
2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
1,2: Beijing, China
Email: ymdu@mail.iee.ac.cn

Abstract—The structure of Ironless Permanent Magnet

Linear Synchronous Motors (IPMLSM) used in magnetic
levitation is simple, however, the thrust increase is limited due
to ironless. It is important to study how to increase the thrust
of the motor. This paper uses two-dimensional finite element
analysis method to calculate the thrust characteristics of
different types of magnets. The thrust characteristics of
IPMLSM with 2-segment Halbach magnet array, IPMLSM
with improved 2-segment Halbach magnet array and IPMLSM
with 4-segment Halbach magnet array are respectively
calculated by simulation. Meanwhile, the influence of the
mover magnets’ shape on the motor thrust characteristics is
discussed.
Keywords—Trust Characteristics, Halbach Array, Ironless
Permanent Magnet Linear Synchronous Motor
II. FINITE ELEMENT (FE) MODEL OF IPMLSM AND
CONDITION
In this paper, the finite element analysis software
Maxwell is used to model three different mover structures.
Fig. 1 shows different arrangements of permanent magnets
in the mover of IPMLSM. As shown in Fig. 1(a), it is an
IPMLSM with 2-segment Halbach magnet array, Fig. 1(b) is
an IPMLSM with improved 2-segment Halbach magnet
array, and Fig. 1(c) shows an IPMLSM with 4-segment
Halbach magnet array. The arrow represents the direction of
magnetization.

I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, IPMLSM have been widely used in
medium maglev trains. IPMLSM have no slot, hence the
cogging effect will not be generated. IPMLSM also has the
(a) Schematic of scheme A —IPMLSM with 2-segment Halbach magnet
characteristics of low noise and small vibration[1]. In the
motor, the more magnetic flux the coil gets, the greater the
Lorentz force that can be generated. The Halbach magnet
array can enhance magnetic flux on one side and easily
obtain an air-gap magnetic density close to the sine wave,
which has been widely used in the permanent magnet motor
rotor[2-7]. However, because the stator of IPMLSM has no
iron core, its air-gap magnetic density is low, which results (b) Schematic of scheme B —IPMLSM with 2-segment Halbach array
in a lower thrust density than the permanent magnet linear
synchronous motor with iron core. Reference [8] shows the
parameters of the mover magnets will influence the thrust
significantly.
In order to design a reasonable structure to further
improve the air gap magnetic density and thrust
characteristics of IPMLSM, this paper uses finite element (c) Schematic of scheme C —IPMLSM with 4-segment Halbach array
analysis models of three different types of IPMLSM to
analyze the impact of different shapes of permanent magnets Fig. 1. different arrangements of permanent magnets in the mover of
on the thrust characteristics. The simulation results will IPMLSM
provide guidance for the design of IPMLSM.
In Fig. 1, τ is the pole pitch and hPM is the height of the

This work was supported by National Key R&D program of China

(2016YFB1200601-B18).

- 1806 -
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitas Brawijaya. Downloaded on March 28,2023 at 15:26:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 The 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS)
magnets. In Figure 1(a), keeping the volume of the magnet
constant, wPM changes with hPM. In Fig. 1(b), the width of the
radial magnetized magnet is wPM1, and wPM2 changes as wPM1
changes under the condition that hPM and pole pitch τ remain
unchanged. In Figure 1(c), wPM1 is the width of the magnets
magnetized in the radial and axial directions, and wPM2 is the
width of the magnets magnetized at 45 degrees, 135 degrees,
225 degrees, and 315 degrees.
TABLE I CONDITIONS USED IN THE ANALYSIS
pole pitch τ/mm
total lengt l/mm
number of the pole pairs/p
Air-gap length g0/mm
effective length lef in Z direction /mm
Table I shows the conditions of the simulation. In this
simulation, keep the pole pitch τ, the total length of the train l,
the number of pole pairs p, the air-gap length g0 and the
effective length lef in Z direction constant. In scheme A,
considering that if the hPM is too large, it is not suitable for
the assembly of the train in reality, so the range of wPM is
from 51 mm to 96 mm. In scheme B, wPM1 varies from 5 mm
to 190mm. In scheme C, wPM1 varies from 6 mm to 86 mm.
III. SIMULATION RESULTS
This paper analyzes the thrust characteristics of the motor
by calculating the fundamental magnetic flux density of the
air-gap magnetic field, the harmonic content of the magnetic
field THD and the maximum thrust.
(a) Variation of the thrust
(b) Variation of THD
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitas Brawijaya. Downloaded on March 28,2023 at 15:26:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
200
2700
6.75
15 (c) Variation of the fundamental magnetic flux density of the air-gap
500 magnetic field
Fig.2 Variation of the thrust characteristics of scheme A
Assume that the volume of the mover magnet maintains
constant, Fig. 2 shows the variation of the thrust
characteristics of scheme A. Apparently, with the same
amount of magnet, the fundamental magnetic flux density of
the air-gap magnetic field on the upper surface of the
conductor goes up with the increase of the magnet width
wPM. When wPM=96 mm, the amplitude of the fundamental
magnetic flux density reaches its maximum. The harmonic
content of the air-gap magnetic field first decreases and then
increases as the width of the radial magnetized magnet
increases. When wPM=61 mm, the harmonic content is the
smallest. The maximum thrust also increases with the width
of the radial magnetized magnet increases. The thrust
reaches the maximum when wPM=96 mm. Therefore, in
scheme A, when the magnet width wPM=96 mm, that is,
when the mechanical distance between two adjacent
magnets is the shortest, the thrust reaches the maximum.
The maximum thrust is 5.90 kN.
(a) Variation of the thrust
(b) Variation of THD
- 1807 -
 The 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS)
(c) Variation of the fundamental magnetic flux density of the air-gap
magnetic field
Fig.3 Variation of the thrust characteristics of scheme B
It can be seen from the calculation results in Fig. 3 that
with the same amount of magnet, the fundamental magnetic
flux density of the air-gap magnetic field on the upper
surface of the conductor and the thrust increases first and
then decreases as the width of the radial magnetized magnet
increases. When wPM1=96 mm, the fundamental magnetic
flux density of the air-gap magnetic field and the thrust are
the largest. The harmonic content of the air-gap magnetic
field first decreases and then increases as the width of the
radial magnetized magnet increases. When wPM1=96 mm,
the harmonic content reaches its minimum. Therefore, in
scheme B, when the width wPM1 of the radial magnetization
magnets and the width wPM2 of the axial magnetization
magnets are equal, in other words, when the ratio of wPM1 to
wPM2 is 1:1, the thrust characteristics are the best. The thrust
force reaches the maximum and THD reaches its minimum
at the same time, the maximum thrust is 5.91 kN.
(a) Variation of the thrust
(b) Variation of THD
- 1808 -
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitas Brawijaya. Downloaded on March 28,2023 at 15:26:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
(c) Variation of the fundamental magnetic flux density of the air-gap
magnetic field
Fig.4 Variation of the thrust characteristics of scheme B
The above calculation results in Fig. 4 indicates that with
the same amount of magnet, the fundamental magnetic flux
density of the air-gap magnetic field on the upper surface of
the conductor increases first and then decreases as the width
of the radial magnetized magnet increases. When wPM1=46
mm, the fundamental magnetic flux density of the air-gap
magnetic field is the largest. The harmonic content of the air
gap magnetic field first decreases and then increases as the
width of the radial magnetization magnet increases. When
w=46 mm, the harmonic content is the smallest. The thrust
also first increases with the the width of the radial
magnetized magnet increases, reaches the maximum at
46mm and then decreases. Therefore, in scheme C, when the
width wPM1 of the radial magnetization magnets equals the
width wPM2 of the axial magnetization magnets, the thrust
force reaches the maximum and THD reaches its minimum
at the same time. In other words, when the ratio of wPM1 to
wPM2 is 1:1, the thrust characteristics are optimum, the
maximum thrust is 6.29 kN.
IV. CONCLUSION
This paper studies the effect of different mover
structures on the thrust characteristics of IPMLSM with
Halbach array magnets. The results show that Halbach
magnets with different numbers of segments and different
shapes of magnets affect the thrust characteristics of the
motor. In the 2-segment Halbach motor structure, in case the
thrust is the only consideration, the parameter of the
structure of the shortest mechanical distance between two
adjacent magnets should be selected. For the improved 2-
segment Halbach motor structure like scheme B, when the
widths of adjacent magnets are equal, the maximum thrust
could be achieved. For the structure of IPMLSM with 4-
segment Halbach magnets, to achieve the maximum thrust,
the parameters should be chosen when the width of adjacent
magnets are equal. Among the three structures calculated in
this paper, the thrust characteristics of IPMLSM with 4-
segment Halbach magnets are significantly better than the
other two structures.
REFERENCES
[1] Jang, S. M. , & Lee, S. H. . (2002). Comparison of two types of pm
linear synchronous servo and miniature motor with air-cored film
coil. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 38(5), 3264-3266.
[2] Lee M G , Lee S Q , Gweon D G . Analysis of Halbach magnet array
and its application to linear motor[J]. Mechatronics, 2004, 14(1):115-
128.
 The 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS)

[3] Halbach K . Design of permanent multipole magnets with oriented
rare earth cobalt material[J]. Nuclear Instruments & Methods, 1980,
169(1):1-10..
[4] X. Huang，Q. Zhang，G. Zhou, Halbach Permanent Magnet Ironless
Linear Motors in Transactions of China Electrotechnical Society,
2010, 000(006):P.1-6.
[5] Hellinger R , Mnich P . Linear Motor-Powered Transportation:
History, Present Status, and Future Outlook[J]. Proceedings of the
IEEE, 2009, 97(11):1892-1900.
[6] Lee H W , Kim K C , Lee J . Review of maglev train technologies[J].
IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 2006, 42(7):1917-1925.
[7] Yan L . The Linear Motor Powered Transportation Development and
Application in China[J]. Proceedings of the IEEE, 2009, 97(11):1872-
1880.
[8] Zhang, X. , Lu, J. Y. , & Long, X. L. . (2014). Research on lsm with
permanent magnet halbach and ironless coil for magnetic levitation
vehicles. Applied Mechanics & Materials, 701-702, 753-756.

- 1809 -
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitas Brawijaya. Downloaded on March 28,2023 at 15:26:46 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.