Design and analysis of an electromagnetic turnout for the superconducting Maglev system

• The switching principle of electromagnetic turnout for a Halbach-type magnetic rail was presented.
• Shape design and optimization of the electromagnet for electromagnetic turnout were conducted.
• Magnetic field distribution over the working area of electromagnetic turnout was analyzed.
• Feasibility of the electromagnetic turnout was proved.

Turnout is a crucial track junction device of the ground rail transportation system. For high temperature superconducting (HTS) Maglev system, the permanent magnet guideway (PMG) makes the strong magnetic force existing between rail segments, which may cause moving difficulties and increase the operation cost when switching a PMG. In this paper, a non-mechanical ‘Y’ shaped Halbach-type electromagnetic turnout was proposed. By replacing the PMs with electromagnets, the turnout can guide the maglev vehicle running into another PMG by simply controlling the current direction of electromagnets. The material and structure parameters of the electromagnets were optimized by simulation. The results show that the optimized electromagnet can keep the magnetic field above it as strong as the PMs’, meanwhile feasible for design and manufacture. This work provides valuable references for the future design in non-mechanical PMG turnout.