Control, Simulation and Validation of a Hybrid Actuator for a Maglev Train Model on a Scale of 1:20

Hybrid actuators combine permanent magnet and electromagnetic forces, leading to highly energy-efficient operation. With a sophisticated design, only dynamic air gap deviations have to be compensated. Hybrid actuators have an inherently unstable system behavior. This paper presents an approach for designing a current and air gap controller to achieve dynamic stability. This is realized by adding a PID-controller to the mechanical system in such a way, that the resulting system can be described by a damped harmonic oscillator. The desired system behavior is achieved by adjusting the characteristics of the spring-damper-element with the controller parameters. Subsequently, the actuator is simulated with the calculated parameters and a prototype on a scale of 1:20 is tested in the laboratory. With the applied controller design the measurements show a considerable accordance.