Review of recent progress in linear motors

Abstract

The paper gives a review of recent progress in linear electrical machines. The use of linear machines for industrial purposes is described and this is followed by a report of their application to transport propulsion and levitation. The development of linear forms of induction motor, synchronous motor, stepper motors, DC motors, permanent magnet motors and reluctance motors is described. A description of most major experimental and implemented transport projects using linear motors is provided, along with the reported performances of the different arrangements. The paper concludes with a review of the analytical techniques used to obtain the performance of linear machines. A description of direct-solution layer methods, and finite-element techniques is given, with a comparison of accuracies achieved by each method.