• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.1903-1908
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• 2008

This paper presents a characteristics of linear induction motor considering airgap variation for railway transit in order to achieve high performance of the vehicle. The operating principle of a LIM(Linear induction motor) is identical to a rotary induction motor. Space-time variant magnetic fields are generated by the primary part across the airgap and induce the electro-motive force(EMF) in the secondary part, a conducting sheet. This EMF generates the eddy currents, which interact with the airgap flux and so produce the thrust force known as Loren's force. Even though the operating principal is exactly same as a rotary motor, the linear motor has a finite length of the primary or secondary parts and it causes static and dynamic end-effect which is the discontinuous airgap flux phenomenon. This end-effect causes the deterioration of the system performance, especially in high-speed operation. Another problem is that construction tolerance restricts the minimum airgap in order to prevent a collision between the primary part and the secondary reaction plate. More over, as the airgap length is getting smaller, the attraction force between the primary part and secondary parts is getting larger dramatically and the attraction force would be another friction against propulsion. Therefore, it is necessary to figure out the characteristics of linear induction motor considering airgap variation in order to achieve high performance of the vehicle. The dynamic model of LIM taking into account end-effects is derived. Then the modified mechanical load equation considering the effect of the attraction and thrust force according to the airgap variation is analyzed. The simulation results are presented to show the effect of the LIM according to the airgap variation.