Magnetic Suspension System

A
synopsis
submitted
by
Kartik Muhal
Dinesh Joshi
Rampal Mukker

for the degree

of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
(MAJOR PROJECT)
Supervisor
Mr. Nimesh Baba
(Assistant Professor)
Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Sine International Institute of Technology
Lakhna Road, Via Sanganer Bazar, Jaipur, Rajasthan
April, 2016

1. INTRODUCTION
The basic role of suspension is to isolate the vehicle from the road shocks and vibration so that it
could be a comfortable ride for the passenger and goods are in their proper condition too. The
suspensions act as a link between vehicle tires and chassis. The vibrations from the wheels are
reduced by suspension only. The suspension gives cushioning effect. There are lots of types of
suspension. Such as Leaf/Laminated spring (mostly used in heavy duty trucks and SUVs), coil
spring, double wishbone, trailing arm suspension, spring-hydraulic suspension, hydraulic suspension,
air suspension etc. all these are in use for quite a long time. But the entire above still lag in providing
comfort to the passenger and lots of failures have been faced by the industry related to suspension.
There are many types of failures occurring in day to day operations of suspension. They are
mechanical failure, changes in stiffness of springs, change of ride height due to uneven distribution
of loads during non-flat tapered road resulting in change in spring stiffness and its arrangement.
Some other problems are that the spring cannot be adjusted by the person himself who is driving the
car, even though high end car have adjustable ride height but it is not in access to all categories of
people of the society.
Magnetic suspension is the technology for supporting an object without contact by means of a
magnetic force. Magnetic suspension systems have many advantages, which are the realization of
high speed due to no friction, and the applications in the cosmos because of the lubrication free.
2. CURRENT STATUS OF RESEARCH
Magnetic suspensions are receiving increasing attention as a means of eliminating Coulomb friction
due to mechanical contact. They are becoming increasingly popular for high-speed ground
transportation systems, and vibration isolation systems, to quote a few applications. Specifically,
magnetic bearings are becoming increasingly popular in the precision engineering industry which
places significant demands on accurate positioning, bandwidth, and stiffness.
3. MOTIVATION FOR RESEARCH
Suspension system is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that
connects a vehicle to its wheels. It is basically cushion, for passengers, protects the luggage or any
cargo and also itself from damage and wear.
Role of Suspension system
1) It supports the weight of an automobile
2) Provides smoother ride for the driver and passenger
3) Protects your vehicle from damage and wear

4) It also place a critical role in maintaining self driving conditions

5) It also keeps the wheels pressed firmly to the ground for traction
6) It isolates the body from road shocks and vibrations which would otherwise transfer to the
passengers and load.
Hence we came up with an idea of using magnetic suspension in an automobile. The magnetic
suspension will make the ride comfortable and will give more flexibility as compared to that of
mechanical suspension and reduce mechanical failures too. The magnetic suspension is based on
working of the magnetic attraction and repulsion phenomenon. Magnetic suspension will enhance
and improve the driving experience.
.
4. BROAD OUTLINE OF WORK
The magnetic suspension gives more flexibility compared to the current or conventional types of
suspension. Magnetic suspension allows us to change the stiffness also according to the requirement
of the driver. Since there are less mechanical parts hence the amount of wear and tear in magnetic
suspension is less. The magnetic suspension will provide a high end comfort since there is no
limitation of spring compressing capacity or air/fluid compressibility. The magnets will repel as they
possess same polarity and this will result in nullifying the vibrations which will ease the driving by
increasing comfort level.
The noncontact suspension system is a kind of supporting system without mechanical contacts. There
are many advantages in noncontact suspension system, such as no contact, no friction and lubrication
free. There are many kinds of noncontact suspension systems. Each suspension method has different
advantages, problems and limits.
5. METHODOLOGY
The magnetic suspension will be a set of electromagnets acting as dampers. The magnetic suspension
will consist of two ends (the normal hydraulic suspension arrangement) like two cylindrical
arrangements which will be having two electromagnets on either ends. One end will be connected to
the vehicle frame and the other end will be connected to the wheels. Now the ends will be having
same charge (Polarity of magnets) while travelling on the highway, city or on any surface. Now we
will be using electromagnets which will be connected to the power supply. Then lets say the vehicle
is travelling on the road and a bump comes the polarity of the electromagnets will be in such a
manner that both the ends are same. When the vehicle hits a bump then the charge being produced
due to same polarity will result in repulsion and this will indirectly affect the vehicle. The magnetic
field for electromagnetic suspension can be generated by using feedback loop for electromagnet. The

basic reason is that, when current passes through any closed wire magnetic field is generated. The
strength or power of magnetic field can be increased or decreased accordingly as per requirement.
7. APPLICATION OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH
Magnetic suspension can adapt to uneven road surfaces several hundred times per second, in fact it
takes only a few milliseconds to adjust any one of the shock absorbers. The magnetic suspension
system has the ability to give much smoother ride than any luxury sedan, and less roll and pitch than
any sports car.

8. REFERENCES
1. http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnshaw%.
2. Dr H C Verma, Physics by H C Verma volume 2, page no. 245-253.
3. Dr Kirpal Singh, automobile engineering volume 1, page number 170, 176, 178, 191.
4. http://www.physics.ucla.edu/marty/levitron/spinstab.pdf
5. http://www.superconductors.org/uses.htm
6. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/be199aa138b84010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
7. http://www.chem.yale.edu/~chem125/levitron/levitron.html
8. http://science.howstuffworks.com/magnet3.htm
9. http://www.howstuffworks.com/electromagnet.htm
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet
11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnet
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_levitation
13. http://my.execpc.com/~rhoadley/maglev.htm