Guideway of the Yamanashi Maglev

Test Line

Guideway of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line

The guideway consists of a structure corresponding to the conventional
track and ground coils corresponding to the conventional motor. It is a vital
element of Maglev.
For the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, the following methods of installing the
ground coils for propulsion, levitation, and guiding to the guideway are
adopted, out of which the best one for commercial operation will be
selected.
Beam Method

In the beam method, the sidewall portion will be constituted solely of concrete beams. The
entire process from beam manufacturing to installation of the ground coils take place at the
on-site factory (provisional yard). A finished beam is transported to the work site within the
guideway, to be placed on two concrete beds set up in advance there.
Panel Method
In a factory set up on-site (provisional yard) the concrete panel is produced and attached with
ground coils. The finished assembly is carried to the work site, where it is fixed, with 10
bolts, to the concrete sidewall erected in advance there.
Direct-Attachment Method

At the work site in the tunnels or on the bridges a concrete sidewall portion is produced. At
the same site the finished sidewall is directly fitted with the ground coils. With no need for
the factory or transport vehicle, this method is economically superior to the other two, but its
drawback lies in that it allows only slight adjustments of individual ground coils to correct
the irregularities.
New Method
Former three types of sidewalls were adopted as the guideway structure to evaluate their
functions and clarify merits and defects. We developed the new type guideway structure
taking advantage of the merits based on the evaluation results. We placed emphasis on the
improvement of the efficiency of installing sidewalls to concrete roadbed, as a means to
reduce costs for the construction or maintenance. We discussed a shape of the sidewall in all
aspects of the efficient installation, and eventually adopted an invert-T-shaped sidewall.

Turnout Facilities of the Yamanashi

Maglev Test Line

Turnout Facilities of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line

The turnout facilities (switches) are an indispensable element for
distributing the train routes. Depending on the train speed dictated by the
purpose, there are three types, for high speed, for low speed, and for the
train depot. On the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, they are selectively employed
for testing purposes.
High-speed (traverser) type

A traverser is installed to switch routes between the straight main line where the vehicle runs
levitated at high speed and the curved branch line where the vehicle runs on wheels at low
speed.
In the high-speed (traverser) type, the guideway is divided into several laterally movable
beams, which shift to switch routes. On the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, two shift-drive
systems, electrical and hydraulic, are tested.
Low-speed (sidewall-shifting) type

The sidewall-shifting type is employed at terminals where the line starts and ends; and where
low-speed wheel runs takes place on the straight main line and curved branch line.
In this type the route is formed by merely shifting the sidewalls, instead of the girder,
vertically or laterally. The front and rear ends permit the sidewalls to be moved laterally,
while the midpart permits the sidewalls to be moved vertically.
Train-depot type
For the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, the train-depot type is adopted on the section where the
vehicle is place on a tractor-pulled run. In this type, the vehicle is guided along the guide rail
on the ground.
 Boarding Facilities of the Yamanashi
Maglev Test Line
In the Maglev operation, for the purpose of shielding the passengers from
the magnetic fields of the SCMs, boarding facilities resembling boarding
bridges at airports are installed on the platform so that the passengers can
safely get on or off the train.
Test platform (extending type)

This is a four-layered box-like structure making a passage that extends and contracts like
bellows.
Test platform (rotating type)

This is a three-sided structure consisting of a floor and two sidewalls. For boarding, a pair of
doors on the platform side rotate 90 degrees and sliding boards emerge, making a passage.

Ground Coils of the Yamanashi Maglev

Test Line
 Propulsion Coil Levitation Coil
For the superconducting LSM (LSM; Linear Synchronous Motor), the
ground coil is an essential element corresponding to the armature in the
conventional motor and to the conventional rails. The ground coils come in
two types: propulsion coils to propel the vehicle and levitation coils serving
both to levitate the vehicle and to guide it laterally. When electric current
flows in these coils fitted to the guideway, the Maglev vehicle can run.
On the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line, the propulsion coils are arranged in two overlapping
layers to reduce the external electromagnetic disturbances influencing the Superconducting
Magnet; and the levitation coils are placed on these propulsion coils.
Both the propulsion coils and the levitation coils are wound aluminum conductors and
molded with resin. The propulsion coils are required to be electrically insulated and
mechanically strong, while the levitation coils are required mainly to be mechanically strong.
Therefore the propulsion coils are moldings of epoxy resin, while the levitation coils are
moldings of unsaturated polyester resin respectively reinforced with glass fiber.

Electrical Facilities of the Yamanashi

Maglev Test Line

External view of the inverter unit

The inverter installed at the substation for power conversion is a facility to
transform the power supplied from the utility company at commercial
frequency into one of a frequency required for train operation.
For the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line there are inverters provided in three sets respectively for
three phases, of 38 MVA for the north line and 20 MVA for the south line.
Depending on the train speed, the north line inverters give a frequency output of 0-56 Hz
(550 km/h) and the south line inverters give a frequency output of 0-46 Hz (450 km/h). The
operation control system at the test center formulates run curves, which in turn instruct the
drive control system at the substation for power conversion.

SCM of the Yamanashi Maglev Test

Line

SCM of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line

The SCM (SuperConducting Magnet) is the core element of
superconducting Maglev. Two SCMs are mounted on each bogie.
Each SCM of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line consists of 4 SC coils. The SCM features high
reliability and high durability, embodying the achievements of the Miyazaki Maglev Test
Track and RTRI (Kunitachi, Tokyo).
The cylindrical unit at the top is a tank holding liquefied helium and nitrogen. The bottom
unit is an SC coil alternately generating N poles and S poles. At one end of the tank is the
integrally-attached on-board refrigerator, which serves to re-liquefy the helium gas once
vaporized by regular heat absorption and external disturbances during running.
 SCM of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line (cut model)
Pole pitch Layout Fitted height
4-pole, 2-row 0.57 m
1.35 m
(symmetrical on both sides) (height above SC coil center in wheel run)
SC coil dimensions
Magnetomotive force Left-right spacing
Length x width
1.07 m x 0.5 m
700 kA 2.98 m
(race track)
Car-mounted refrigeration system
Circular re-liquefaction by direct cooling

MLX01
 MLX01 leading car, aero-wedge

MLX01 leading car, double cusp

New leading car, MLX01-901

MLX01 (X means Experimental) is the train set (composed of
maximum 5 cars) to run on the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line. The
leading cars are designed in three styles: aero-wedge, double
cusp, and new MLX01-901, to minimize aerodynamic resistance in
high-speed run. And in anticipation of trial riding some
intermediate cars are provided with seating space.
MLX01 is complete with on-board backup brakes, namely
aerodynamic brakes and disc brakes, well proven on MLU001 and
MLU002N at the Miyazaki Malgev Test Track.
Carbody dimension (m)
Number built Seating capacity
Length x width x height
leading car: 28.0 x 2.90 x 3.32 leading car: 5
standard intermediatecar: 21.6 x standard intermediate
long intermediate
2.90 x 3.32 car: 2
car: 68
long intermediate car: 24.3 x 2.90 x long intermediate car:
3.32 2
Superconducting Coil Max.speed(km/h) Completed year
(SC coil)
Magnetomotive force (kA)
x poles x rows
700 x 4 x 2 581(result) 1996-2002

Aerodynamic brakes Seating space

Bogie Door

ML100
 ML100

ML100 (side view, dimension in mm)

ML100 is propelled by LIM (Linear Induction Motor). Built as a show-case

experimental vehicle, it was intended for celebrating Japan's railway centennial in
1972. It runs astride the inverted-T guideway looking like a vertical wall.
"ML" stands for "Magnetic Levitation" and "100" implies the 100th anniversary
of Japan's railway.
Carbody dimension
(m) Weight Number Seating
Length x width x (t) built capacity
height
7.0 x 2.5 x 2.2 3.5 1 4
Superconducting
Coil
Max.
(SC coil) Site of Year
speed
Magnetomotive run completed
(km/h)
force (kA)
x poles x rows
For levitation : 250 x 2
60 RTRI of JNR 1972
x2

MLU002N
 MLU002N

MLU002N (side view, dimensions in mm)

With about the same carbody as MLU002, MLU002N was yet
another experimental vehicle more oriented for commercial
operation, equipped with disc brakes, aerodynamic brakes, and
the resiliently-mouted SCM bogie.
It served for mechanical brake testing, and confirmation of the
propulsion/levitation/guiding function of the PLG Coil, in which a
single sidewall coil was responsible for propulsion, levitation, and
guiding. MLU002N in 1995 successfully registered the highest
speed of 411 km/h in a manned run at the Miyazaki Test Track.
Carbody dimension
(m) Seating
Weight (t) Number built
Length x width x capacity
height
22.0 x 3.0 x 3.7 19.0 1 12
Superconducting Max. speed Site of run Year
 Coil
(SC coil)
Magnetomotive (km/h) completed
force (kA)
x poles x rows
unmanned:
Miyazaki Maglev Test
700 x 6 x 2 431 1993
Track
manned: 411

Resiliently-mounted the SCM bogie

Aerodynamic brakes (double-layered bogie)

MLU002
 MLU002

MLU002 (side view, dimensions in mm)

MLU002 was an experimental vehicle taking the place of MLU001
and built with the prototype bogie style to serve as the design
base for future commercial cars.
Meant for test riding, it had seating space for 44 passengers.
MLU002 performed turnout entry tests, sidewall levitating
performance tests aimed at reduction of magnetic drag at low
speed, and resiliently-mounted SCM bogie performance tests for
improved riding comfort. Unfortunately in 1991 it was burned
down in an accidental fire during test run.
Carbody dimension
(m) Weight Seating
Number built
Length x width x (t) capacity
height
22.0 x 3.0 x 3.7 17.0 1 44
Superconducting Max. Site of run Year
Coil speed completed
(SC coil) (km/h)
Magnetomotive
force (kA)
x poles x rows
Miyazaki Maglev Test
700 x 6 x 2 394 1987
Track

Bogie of MLU002

MLU001

MLU001 (3-car train)

 MLU001 (side view)
MLU001 to serve for long-distance mass transport in the future
was designed as a coach accommodating passengers. To carry
passengers, the passenger room had to be located above the
bogie to get clear of the inverted-T guideway, which resulted in an
enlarged carbody. For this reason, instead of the inverted-T
guideway a U-shaped guideway was adopted, yielding a box-like
carbody. "U" in the designation MLU implies that the design was
changed to a U-shape. Three cars including a middle car were
built.
Using MLU001, its moving characteristics have been investigated
in test runs with the three cars coupled and with the guideway
intentionally provided with irregularities.
Carbody dimension
(m) Seating
Weight (t) Number built
Length x width x capacity
height
Head cars: 10.1 x 3.0
Head cars: 8
x 3.3 Head cars: 2
10.0 Middle car:
Middle car: 8.2 x 3.0 x Middle car: 1
16
3.3
Superconducting
Coil
(SC coil) Max. speed Year
Site of run
Magnetomotive (km/h) completed
force (kA)
x poles x rows
2-car train:
405 Miyazaki Maglev Test
700 x 4 x 2 1980-82
3-car train: Track
352
 MLU001 (in aerodynamic braking tests)
Even after MLU002 came into being, MLU001 remained, to be submitted to
emergency landing brake tests in 1987; and after restructuring, it served again
for aerodynamic braking test in 1989.

ML-500, 500R

ML-500

ML-500 (side view, dimension in mm)

ML-500 is the first-generation experimental vehicle for the
Miyazaki Maglev Test Track. Initially, the Miyazaki Test Track had
an inverted-T guideway, and with no space reserved to
accommodate passengers, ML-500 turned out to be an unmanned
vehicle.
In those days, with no large SCM (Superconducting Magnet)
available such as the present one, ML-500 came in two versions
separately equipped with SCM for levitation and SCM for
propulsion and guiding. In December 1979, ML-500 was credited
with a test run at 517 km/h, the highest speed in the world then.
Incidentally, "500" in the designation ML-500 meant the target of
500 km/h.
Carbody dimension (m) Weight Seating
Number built
Length x width x height (t) capacity
13.5 x 3.7 x 2.9 10.0
1 -
12.6 x 3.7 x 3.8 12.7
Superconducting Coil
(SC coil) Max.
Year
Magnetomotive force speed Site of run
completed
(kA) (km/h)
x poles x rows
For levitation: 250 x 2 x 2 1977
517 Miyazaki Maglev Test
For propulsion-guiding: 450 1979
204 Track
x4x2 (modified)

ML-500R
ML-500R is a modified version of ML-500 mounted with a refrigerator for cooling
the SCM. Using ML-500R, feasibility of manufacturing the car-mounted
refrigerator has been confirmed.
FOR the past two decades, prototype magnetically
levitated (maglev) trains cruising at up to 400 kilometers
per hour have pointed the way to the future in rail
transport. Their compelling advantages include high
speeds, little friction except aerodynamic drag, low
energy consumption, and negligible air and noise
pollution.
However, maglev trains also pose significant drawbacks
in maintenance costs, mechanical and electronic
complexity, and operational stability. Some maglev train
cars, for example, employ superconducting coils to
generate their magnetic field. These coils require
expensive, cryogenic cooling systems. These maglev
systems also require complicated feedback circuits to
prevent disastrous instabilities in their high-speed
operation.
Lawrence Livermore scientists have recently developed
a new approach to magnetically levitating high-speed
trains that is fundamentally much simpler in design and
operation (requiring no superconducting coils or stability
control circuits), potentially much less expensive, and
more widely adaptable than other maglev systems. The
new technology, called Inductrack, employs special
arrays of permanent magnets that induce strong
repulsive currents in a "track" made up of coils, pushing
up on the cars and levitating them.
Totally Passive Technology
During the past two years, a Livermore team, headed by
physicist Richard Post, has successfully demonstrated
the Inductrack concept in test trials. The test runs
demonstrated the system's totally passive nature,
meaning that achieving levitation requires no control
currents to maintain stability, and no externally supplied
currents flowing in the tracks. Instead, only the motion
of train cars above the track is needed to achieve stable
levitation. The results have been so promising that
NASA has awarded a three-year contract to the team to
explore the concept as a way to more efficiently launch
satellites into orbit.
Inductrack involves two main components: a special
array of permanent, room-temperature magnets mounted
on the vehicle and a track embedded with close-packed
coils of insulated copper wire. The permanent magnets
are arranged in configurations called Halbach arrays,
named after Klaus Halbach, retired Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory physicist. Originally conceived for
particle accelerators, Halbach arrays concentrate the
magnetic field on one side, while canceling it on the
opposite side. When mounted on the bottom of a rail car,
the arrays generate a magnetic field that induces currents
in the track coils below the moving car, lifting the car by
several centimeters and stably centering it.
When the train car is at rest (in a station), no levitation
occurs, and the car is supported by auxiliary wheels.
However, as soon as the train exceeds a transitional
speed of 1 to 2 kilometers an hour (a slow walking
speed), which is achieved by means of a low-energy
auxiliary power source, the arrays induce sufficient
currents in the track's inductive coils to levitate the train.
To test the Inductrack concept, Post, project engineer J.
Ray Smith, and mechanical technician Bill Kent
assembled a one-twentieth-scale model of linear track 20
meters long (Figure 1). The track contained some 1,000
rectangular inductive wire coils, each about 15
centimeters wide. Each coil was shorted at its ends to
form a closed circuit but not otherwise connected to any
electrical source. Along the sides of the track, they
attached aluminum rails on which a 22-kilogram test cart
could ride until the levitation transition velocity was
exceeded (Figure 2). Finally, the team secured Halbach
arrays of permanent magnet bars to the test cart's
underside for levitation and on the cart's sides for lateral
stability.
The cart was then launched mechanically at the
beginning of the track at speeds exceeding 10 meters per
second. High-speed still and video cameras revealed that
the cart was consistently stable while levitated, flying
over nearly the entire track length before settling to rest
on its wheels near the end of the track.
Post says the test results are consistent with a complete
theoretical analysis of the Inductrack concept he
performed with Livermore physicist Dmitri Ryutov. The
theory predicts levitation forces of up to 50 metric tons
per square meter of magnet array using modern
permanent magnet materials such as neodymium-iron-
boron. The theory also shows levitation of loads
approaching 50 times the weight of the magnets,
important for reducing the cost relative to maglev
vehicles.

External Power Needed

Post notes that a power source is needed to accelerate
the cart to its operating speed of 10 to 12 meters per
second. The first section of the test track uses a set of
electrically energized track coils--aided by a stretched
bungee cord--to reach this speed. A full-scale train might
use an electronic drive system, as found on experimental
German trains, or even a jet turbine, as proposed by
Inductrack engineer Smith. "Inductrack allows you the
possibility of carrying all the power with you,"
emphasizes Post.
Even though the electromagnetic drag associated with
Inductrack becomes small at high speeds, an auxiliary
power source would also be needed to maintain the
train's high speed against aerodynamic drag. The amount
of power needed depends on the weight of the vehicle
and its maximum speed. If the external drive power ever
fails, or when the train arrives at a station, the train cars
would simply coast to a stop, easing down on their
auxiliary wheels. In this sense, Inductrack is a true fail-
safe system.
Livermore is one of the few institutions to explore the
uses of the Halbach array. Indeed, the Inductrack
concept arose from Post's research on an
electromechanical battery designed for superefficient
cars and trucks (See April 1996 S&TR, "A New Look at
an Old Idea."). The Livermore battery uses circular
Halbach arrays both to generate power and to achieve
nearly frictionless magnetic bearings that minimize the
loss of stored energy.
"We just unrolled the circular magnetic arrays from the
electromechanical battery into a linear array on the car
that seemed ideal for trains and other vehicles," he
explains.
The Halbach array offers other benefits besides
levitation. Because its magnetic fields cancel out above
the magnets, there is no worry about magnetic fields
affecting passengers' heart pacemakers. In contrast,
passengers must be magnetically shielded on maglev
trains employing superconducting coils.
The consulting company of Booz-Allen & Hamilton
conducted a preliminary feasibility study of Inductrack
and compared it to other maglev technologies. The study
found that while an Inductrack system would cost more
to build than conventional rail systems, it should be less
expensive than maglev trains using superconducting
coils. The study also found that Inductrack should be
able to achieve speeds of 350 kilometers per hour and up
and demonstrate lower energy costs, wheel and rail
wear, propulsion maintenance, and noise levels.

Launching Rockets
Last October, negotiations were completed on a three-
year contract with NASA to build a new Inductrack
model at Lawrence Livermore to demonstrate the
concept at speeds up to Mach 0.5 (170 meters per
second). NASA is interested in maglev technology to
help launch rockets at sharply reduced costs. As
conceived, a track would use a reusable launcher to
propel a rocket up a ramp to almost Mach 1 speeds
before the rocket's main engines fire. According to
Smith, the technology should be able to save about 30%
of the weight of the launch vehicle. "Rocket engines are
not fuel-efficient at low speed," he points out.
The Livermore team is designing a 150-meter-long
track, to be built at the Laboratory site, on which a
scaled launch cradle and rocket will be accelerated.
Unlike the present track, the one for NASA will
interleave powered drive coils with passive levitation
coils to reach the required speeds. The team is partnered
with computer scientists at Pennsylvania State
University, who are developing an integrated design
code that includes magnetics, aerodynamics, stresses,
and control stability to assess full-scale systems.
Post believes Inductrack offers NASA the potential for a
far less expensive technology for magnetic levitation
launchers than approaches using superconducting coils.
He and Smith note, however, that while the existing
Inductrack model has demonstrated the principle of the
concept, there are new issues to be addressed in
launching rockets. Among these are high g forces,
sustained speeds of Mach 0.5 or higher, the effects of
fluctuating aerodynamic forces on the launching cradle
and its payload, and aerodynamic and other issues
associated with detachment and flight of rockets.