De-Centralized and Centralized Control for EMS Maglev System Levitation and Guidance

The comparison between PD de-centralized and centralized control for an EMS maglev system that uses combined magnets with an inverted U-rail for levitation and guidance is presented. A simple 2-DOF maglev system model (rigid and flexible body cases) that comprises heave and lateral modes is used. The comparison is based on two aspects. First, by sketching the multi-input multi-output (MIMO) root loci with every controller individually for system rigid and flexible body cases. Second, a gradient-like search algorithm based on an optimal criterion for PD de-centralized and centralized controllers’ gains tuning is used. Simulation results of the maglev system with these tuned controllers show that the centralized control scheme is capable of lateral displacements suppression that may result from disturbing lateral forces than the de-centralized one.