Abstract: | ![]() The damping characteristic of the bogie motion is one of the most important issues to be investigated in the superconducting magnetically levitated system based on electrodynamic suspension (EDS). We have therefore studied the damping characteristics and the mechanism of magnetic damping. Electric circuits consisting of coil resistances and inductances can describe the electromagnetic behavior of the levitation system. By numerical calculation based on the electric‐circuit equations combined with the equations of motion, damping characteristics of the bogie are examined for the system consisting only of levitation coils and superconducting coils, and also for the configuration with magnetic shielding structures incorporated. Furthermore, paying attention to the energy balance in the levitation and propulsion system when the bogie is forced to oscillate sinusoidally, we have investigated the relation between the input energy and the running speed, and compared the waveforms of levitation force and bogie oscillation to consider the characteristics and the mechanism of the damping. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 127(2): 49–60, 1999 |