HIGH-SPEED SWITCHES FOR MAGLEV VEHICLES

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP SWITCHES CAPABLE OF RAPID OPERATION AT MAXIMUM VEHICLE SPEEDS FOR MAGLEV SYSTEMS WITH DIFFICULT TOPOLOGIES. MAGLEV SYSTEMS REQUIRE SWITCHES CAPABLE OF ENABLING ENTRY AND EXIT FROM THE MAIN GUIDEWAY AT HIGH SPEED (UP TO 134 M/S) I ORDER TO MAINTAIN GUIDEWAY CAPACITY. SOME VEHICLE/GUIDEWAY CONFIGURATIONS ARE NOT WELL SUITED TO IMPLEMENTING A HIGH SPEED SWITCH BECAUSE THEY WRAP AROUND THE GUIDEWAY. SWITCHING SECTIONS MUST BE LONG (TYPICALLY 300 M OR LONGER AT 134 M/S) TO MAINTAIN RIDE QUALITY. MECHANICAL SYSTEMS WHICH BEND LARGE SECTIONS OF GUIDEWAY TO ALLOW SWITCHING ARE NOT PRACTIAL FOR SUCH LONG LENGTHS. CONCEPTS ARE OUTLINED WHICH PROVIDE ELECTROMAGNETIC MEANS OF SWITCHING AND REQUIRE NO MOVING STRUCTURAL GUIDEWAY PARTS. THE EFFORT WILL ANALYZE THE LIMITS OF PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF SPEED, FAILURE MODES, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INTERFERENCE, COST, AND RELATED PERFORMANCE FACTORS. ANTICIPATED RESULTS ARE DEVELOPMENT OF COST EFFECTIVE AND SAFE DESIGNS FOR RAPIDLY SWITCHING MAGLEV VEHICLES AT HIGH SPEEDS.