Inhomogeneity of surface magnetic field over a NdFeB guideway and its influence on levitation force of the HTS bulk maglev system

Superconducting maglev vehicle system was one of the most promising applications of HTS bulks. The NdFeB guideway in this system was composed of many NdFeB permanent magnets and screws, so the air gaps (airgaps) between two permanent magnets and the screws would result in the inhomogeneity of the surface magnetic field. In this paper, we studied the magnetic inhomogeneity over the permanent magnet guideway (PMG) used in high-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev vehicle system and its influence on the levitation force of the HTS bulk. Firstly, we measured the transverse magnetic field above the airgap, the screw and the place under where there was no airgap and screw. It was found that the magnetic field 10 mm above the guideway was roughly uniform. Secondly, we investigated the influence of the magnetic inhomogeneity of the PMG on levitation force of the bulk superconductor. From the experiment results, we found that the influence was very small, and would be ignored. Therefore, we could conclude that the PMG made by this method satisfied the requirements of the HTS maglev vehicle system in a quasi-static state.