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1. INTRODUCTION
Maglev, or magnetic levitation, is a system of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles, predominantly trains, using magnetic levitation. Trends in increased mobility of large masses with changing lifestyle for more comfort are leading to congestion on roads with automobiles. Besides, increasing pollution levels from automobiles, depleting fuel resources, critical dependence on the fuel import. The highest recorded speed of a Maglev train is 581 kilometers per hour (361 mph), achieved in Japan. All operational implementation of maglev technology have had minimal overlap with wheeled train technology and have not been compatible with conventional railroad tracks. Because they cannot share existing infrastructure, maglev must be designed as complete transportation systems. The term maglev refers not only to the vehicles, but to the railway system as well, specified designed for magnetic levitation propulsion. Development of magnetic levitated transport systems is under progress in developed countries.
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motor, below the steel track, carried some but not all of the weight of the train. The
Saitama, Japan 1988 HSST-04-1 exhibited it at Saitama exhibition performed in kumagaya, and runs. Best speed per hour 30 km/h. Yokohama, Japan 1989 HSST-05 acquires a business drivers license at Yokohama exhibition and carries out general test ride driving. Maximum speed 42 km/h.
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The history of maximum speed record by a trial run a) 1974 - West Germany - EET-01 230 km/h b) 1975 West Germany - Comet - 401.3 km/h (by steam rocket propulsion) c) 1978 - Japan - HSST01 - 307.8 km/h (by supporting rocket propulsion, made in Nissan) d) 1979 - Japan - ML500 517 km/h (with no passenger) e) 1987 - Japan - MLU001 - 400.8 km/h (with passengers) f) 1988 - West Germany - TR-06 - 412.6 km/h g) 1989 - West Germany - TR-07 - 436 km/h h) 1993 - Germany - TR-07 - 450 km/h i) 1994 - Japan - MLU002N - 431 km/h (with no passenger) j) 1997- Japan - MLX01 - 550 km/h (with no passenger) k) 1999 - Japan - MLX01-552 km/h (with passengers) l) 2003 - Germany - TR-08-501 km/h (with passenger) m) 2003 - Japan - MLX01-581 km/h (with passenger)
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The need for fast and reliable transportation is increasing throughout the world. High-speed rail has been the solution for many countries. Trains are fast, comfortable, and energy efficient. Maglev research and development began in Germany and Japan during the early 1970's. After laboratory tests in both countries, a test track was constructed in Japan during the mid1970's and in Germany during the mid-1980's Maglev tech is a relatively new transportation tech in which non contacting vehicles travel safely at speeds of 250 to 300mph or higher.
The forces acting on an object in any combination of gravitational, electrostatic, and magneto static fields will make the object's position unstable. It is possible to levitate superconductors and other diamagnetic materials, which magnetize in the opposite sense to a magnetic field in which they are placed. As Superconductors are perfect diamagnets and when placed in an external magnetic field expel the field lines from their interiors. Maglev trains are theoretically capable of speeds upwards of 4,000 miles per hour if operating in a vacuum. The highest recorded speed for a maglev train is 581 kilometers per hour. This record was set by a Japanese experimental maglev train in 2003. It was six kilometers an hour faster than the record set by a French TGV train that same year.
A super high-speed transport system with a non-adhesive drive system that is independent of wheel and rail frictional forces has been a long standing dream of railway engineers. Maglev, a combination of superconducting magnets and linear motor technology, realizes super highspeed running, safety, reliability, low environment impact and minimum maintenance.
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Research and development of maglev, which adopts superconduting technology, has been underway at RTRI of JNR since 1970. After fundamental tests in the laboratory to verify the feasibility of high-speed running at 500 km/h, the construction work of a 7 km test track began in Miyazaki prefecture in 1975. The manned two-car vehicle MLU001 registered a speed of 400.8 km/h in 1987. And the latest vehicle MLU002N, which debuted in 1993, was running on the Miyazaki maglev test track. One main development aim of RTRI is the enhancement of reliability and durability of the superconducting magnet (SCM). The SCM suffers from external magnetic disturbances caused by ground coils and from mechanical vibrations generated by vehicle dynamics, these disturbances cause quenching troubles, or the sudden disappearances of magneto motive force of the SCM. We have studied these problems through many tests and studies, and have developed countermeasures. Other development aims are as follows; aerodynamic brakes, which use the aerodynamic drag of panels on the car roof, and disc brakes for high-speed running, ground coils which consist of sidewall levitation coils; a high power supply system for pulse width modulation (PWM) inverters using gate turn-off (GTO) thyristors; turnout for high or low speed passing. A landmark for maglev occurred in 1990 when it gained the status of nationally funded project. The minister of transport authorized construction of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, targeting the final confirmation of Maglev for practical use. The new test line called the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line opened on April 3, 1997 and is now being used to perform running tests in Yamanashi prefecture. In the same year, the Maglev vehicle MLX01 in a three-car train set achieved world speed records, attaining a maximum speed of 531 km/h in a manned vehicle run on December 12, and a maximum speed of 550 km/h in a manned vehicle run on December 24. On March 18,1999. MLX01 in a five car train set attained a maximum speed of 548 km/h. on April 14, 1999, this five-car train set surpassed the speed record of the three-car train set, attaining a maximum speed of 552 km/h in a manned vehicle run. In March 2000, the Maglev Practical Technology Evalution Committee of the Ministry of transport of Japan concluded, the JR-Maglev has the practibility for ultra high speed mass transportation system. The committee also pointed out the necessity of further running tests for the following purposes:
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1. Conformation of long-term durability and reliability, 2. Cost reduction of its construction and operation, 3. Improvement of the aerodynamics of vehicles for environmental impacts. According to these recommendations, another five-year was planned to improve these technical issues. The technical development of the Maglev has been in the second phase since fiscal 2000. On December 2, 2003, this three-car train set attained a maximum speed of 581 km/h in a manned vehicle run.
3. TECHNOLOGY OF MAGLEV
There are two primary types of maglev technology: 1. Electromagnetic suspension (EMS) uses the attractive magnetic force of a magnet beneath a rail to lift the train up.
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2. Electrodynamics suspension (EDS) uses a repulsive force between two magnetic fields to push the train away from the rail.
Fig.2 electromagnetic suspension system We know that opposite poles attract and like poles repel each other. This is the basic principle behind electromagnetic propulsion. Electromagnets are similar to other magnets in that they attract metal objects, but the magnetic pull is temporary. If you disconnect either end of the coil from the battery, the magnetic field is taken away. The magnetic field created in this coil-and-battery experiment is the simple idea behind a maglev train rail system. There are three components to this system: a) A large electrical power source b) Metal coils lining a guideway or track c) Large guidance magnets attached to the underside of the train
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Fig 3 EDS Maglev Propulsion via propulsion coils At slow speeds, the current induced in these coils and resultant magnetic flux is not large enough to support the weight of the train. For this reason the train must have wheels or some other form of landing gear to support the train until it reaches a speed that can sustain levitation. Propulsion coils on the guide way are used to exert a force on the magnets in the train and make the train move forwards. The propulsion coils that exert a force on the train and make the train move forwards. The propulsion coils that exerts a force on the train are effectively a
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linear motor; an alternating current flowing through the coils generates a continuously varying magnetic field that moves forward along the track. The frequency of thye alternating current is synchronized to match the speed of the train. The offset between the field exerted by magnets on the train and applied field create a force moving the train forward.
4. MAGLEV TRACK
Magnetized coil running along the track, called a Guideway, repels the large magnets on the train's undercarriage, allowing the train to levitate between 0.39 and 3.93 inches (1 to 10 cm) above the guideway. Once the train is levitated, power is supplied to the coils within the guide way walls to create a unique system of magnetic fields that pull and push the train along the guideway. The electric current supplied to the coils in the guideway walls is constantly alternating to change the polarity of the magnetized coils. This change in polarity causes the magnetic field in front of the train to pull the vehicle forward, while the magnetic field behind the train adds more forward thrust.
Fig. 4 maglev track Maglev trains float on a cushion of air, eliminating friction. This lack of friction and the trains' aerodynamic designs allow these trains to reach unprecedented ground transportation speeds of more than 310 mph (500 km/h), or twice as fast as Amtrak's fastest commuter
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train. In comparison, a Boeing-777 commercial airplane used for long-range flights can reach a top speed of about 562 mph (905 km/h). Developers say that maglev trains will eventually link cities that are up to 1,000 miles (1,609 km) apart. At 310 mph, you could travel from Paris to Rome in just over two hours.
Germany and Japan are both developing maglev train technology, and both are currently testing prototypes of their trains. (The German company " Transrapid International" also has a train in commercial use -- more about that in the next section.) Although based on similar concepts, the German and Japanese trains have distinct differences. In Germany, engineers have developed an electromagnetic suspension (EMS) system, called Transrapid. In this system, the bottom of the train wraps around a steel guideway. Electromagnets attached to the train's undercarriage are directed up toward the guideway, which levitates the train about 1/3 of an inch (1 cm) above the guideway and keeps the train levitated even when it's not moving. Other guidance magnets embedded in the train's body keep it stable during travel. Germany has demonstrated that the Transrapid maglev train can reach 300 mph with people onboard.
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So here we have another proposal to transform Mumbai into Shanghai. Maglev train may be launched soon. However, scientific, economic and political barriers and limitations have hindered the widespread adoption of the technology. The Indian Ministry is currently in the process of reviewing a proposal to start a Maglev train system in India. It has already been estimated that the cost to complete this process would be over $30 Billion. The company who sent the proposals is a company based in the United States. There have been feelers sent to Railway Minister, in which the advantages of a Maglev train system were presented. Although still at a preliminary stage, if completed, the train travel time between the two cities, Mumbai to Delhi, will be reduced to three hours, compared to an original 16 hours.
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SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS
The main problem with linear motors has been the cost and difficulty of developing suitable electromagnets. Enormously powerful electromagnets are required to levitate (lift) and move something as big as a train, and these typically consume substantial amounts of electric power. Linear motors often now use superconducting magnets to solve this problem.
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If electromagnets are cooled to low temperatures using liquid helium or nitrogen their electrical resistance disappears almost entirely, which reduces power consumption considerably. This helpful effect, known as superconductivity, has been the subject of intense research since the mid 1980s and makes large-scale linear motors that much more viable.
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8. THE MLX01
8.1 INTRODUCTION
The 42.8km (26.6mile) long Maglev line in Japan called the Yamanashi test line is where the MLX01 is tested. The line was opened in 1996 and with the aim to explore the feasability of maglev trains. This is one of two test lines in Japan, the other called Miyazaki. This is toward the ultimate realization of the Maglev Chuo Shinkansen Line. It was build to test and confirm several things such as miniumum radius curve and steepest gradient and to confirm things such as confortable running at 500km/h (310mph).
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Fig. 8 MLX01 track This test vehicle is one of a few built after other test vehicles. ML stands for maglev, and X for experimental. It includes features on other test vehicles such as aerodynamic braking as a backup system should there be a failure. The train is 3 cars long with two head cars. The head cars are designed in two styles: double cusp and aero-wedge, to minimize aerodynamic resistance in high-speed run. And in anticipation of test riding both head cars are provided with seating space. The seating capacity is 46 for the first head car as with the central and 30 for the other head car
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Fig 9. First working maglev train This was the first maglev vehicle to run on the new track, other vehicles dating back to the 1960s ran on the Miyazaki Maglev Test Track, this is the proper high speed one since the Miyazaki was just trying to establish a working maglev train more than anything.
9. ADVANTAGES OF MAGLEV
Well it sounds high-tech, a floating train, they do offer certain benefits over conventional steel rail on steel wheel railways. The primary advantage is maintanance. Because the train floats along there is no contact with the ground and therefore no need for any moving parts. As a result there are no components that would wear out. This means in theory trains and track would need no maintanence at all. The second advantage is that because maglev trains float, there is no friction. Note that there will still be air resistance. A third advantage is less noise, because there are no wheels running along there is no wheel noise. However noise due to air disturbance still occurs. The final advantage is speed, as a result of the three previous listed it is more viable for maglev trains to travel extremely fast, ie 500km/h or 300mph. Although this is possible with conventional rail it is not economically viable. Another advantage is that the guidway can be made a lot thicker in places, eg after stations and going uphill, which would mean a maglev could get up to 300km/h (186mph) in only 5km where currently takes 18km. Also greater gradients would be applicable.
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13. CONCLUSION
With the discovery of maglev a vast field is made open to the young Scientists and Engineers of today for development in transportation systems. From the above advantages of the Maglev the train may become a major part of transportation systems in the world. Due to its high speed and lower trip time the capacity of the train to carry people is increased greatly.
The system mentioned above might not provide the ultimate answer to high- speed ground transportation but this may form the basic principle for development of many other high-speed systems, which are yet to be devised. Many systems are already being thought over by Engineers and Scientists which may be brought into commercial application in near future. These systems may prove more advantageous than the above system.
In 'Mahabharata' there is a reference that the chariot of 'King Yudhishthira' use to run levitated above ground. Up till now we were considering it as myth or highly impossible but with the discovery of Maglev this myth may have become true already.
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14. REFERENCES
PAPERS
1.William 921583.
W. Dickhart
2. Hitoshi Tsuruga (1992) Superconductive Maglev System On Yamanashi Maglev Test Line. SAE 921584
3. Richard 951918
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