Superconductor Losses and Damping Effects Under Zero Field Cooling and Field Cooling Conditions in a HTSC-Magnet Levitation System

The levitation and guidance forces of an HTS-Maglev vehicle are studied for different zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) conditions, with both forces showing hysteresis behavior in the FC condition. The levitation force has very different magnitudes depending on the cooling conditions employed in the Maglev vehicle. We also report and analyze a damping phenomenon in the levitation and guidance forces and associate the occurrence of damping with power losses located in the YBCO material when the Maglev vehicle operates in the FC condition. These results are very important for further HTS-Maglev vehicle system designs since power losses can disrupt YBCO superconductivity.