Abstract

1. Introduction
1.1 Circular Eddy Current Brake.
1.2 Linear Eddy Current Brake. 2.
Installation Location.
3. Working principle.
4. Electrical Controls system.
5. Characteristics of Eddy current Brakes.
5.1

Abstract
This paper presentation explores the working principle of eddy current

brake mechanism, An eddy current brake, like a conventional friction brake,

is responsible for slowing an object, such as a train or a roller coaster etc.

Unlike the friction brakes, which apply pressure on two separate objects,

eddy current brakes slow an object by creating eddy currents through

electromagnetic induction which create resistance, and in turn either heat

or electricity. The eddy-current is created by the relative motion between a

magnet and a metal (or alloy) conductor. The current induces the reverse

magnetic field and results in the deceleration of motion. The proposed

mechanism implements this phenomenon in developing a braking system.

Introduction
An eddy current is a swirling current set up in a conductor in response
to a hanging magnetic field. By Lenz's law, the current swirls in such a way
as to create a magnetic field opposing the change; to do this in a conductor,
electrons swirl in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. Because of
the tendency of eddy currents to oppose, eddy currents cause energy to
be lost. More accurately, eddy currents transform more useful forms of
energy, such as kinetic energy, into heat, which is generally much less
useful. In many applications the loss of useful energy is not particularly
desirable, but there are some practical applications. One is in the brakes
of some trains. During braking, the metal wheels are exposed to a magnetic
field from an electromagnet, generating eddy currents in the wheels. The
magnetic interaction between the applied field and the eddy currents acts
to slow the wheels down. The faster the wheels are spinning, the stronger
the effect, meaning that as the train slows the braking force is reduced,
producing a smooth stopping motion.

There are two basics types of Eddy current brake as follows-

(1) Circular eddy current brake.

(2) Linear eddy current brake.

1. CIRCULAR EDDY CURRENT BRAKE:

Electromagnetic brakes are similar to electrical motors;

nonferromagnetic metal discs (rotors) are connected to a rotating
coil, and a magnetic field between the rotor and the coil creates a
resistance used to generate electricity or heat. When electromagnets
are used, control of the braking action is made possible by varying
the strength of the magnetic field. A braking force is possible when
electric current is passed through the electromagnets. The movement
of the metal through the magnetic field of the electromagnets creates
eddy currents in the discs. These eddy currents generate an opposing
magnetic field, which then resists the rotation of the discs, providing
braking force. The net result is to convert the motion of the rotors
into heat in the rotors.

Japanese Shinkansen trains had employed circular

eddy current brake system on trailer cars since 100 Series
Shinkansen. However, N700 Series Shinkansen abandoned eddy
current brakes in favour of regenerative brakes since 14 of the 16
cars in the trainset used electric motors.

2. LINEAR EDDY CURRENT BRAKE:

The principle of the linear eddy current brake has been described by
the French physicist Foucault, hence in French the eddy current brake is
called the "frein courants de Foucault". The linear eddy current brake
consists of a magnetic yoke with electrical coils positioned along the rail,
which are being magnetized alternating as south and north magnetic poles.
This magnet does not touch the rail, as with the magnetic brake, but is
held at a constant small distance from the rail (approximately seven
millimeters). It does not move along the rail, exerting only a vertical pull
on the rail. When the magnet is moved along the rail, it generates a
nonstationary magnetic field in the head of the rail, which then generates
electrical tension (Faraday's induction law), and causes eddy currents. These
disturb the magnetic field in such a way that the magnetic force is diverted
to the opposite of the direction of the movement, thus creating a horizontal
force component, which works against the movement of the magnet.

Design parameters for the experiment setup :-

Aluminium disc radius, r =190 [mm]

Air gap, lg = 1, 3, 5 [mm]

Number of electromagnet turns, n = 250

Disc thickness, d = 4, 5 [mm]

Pole diameter = 60 [mm]

Distance between center of disc and center of pole, R = 70

[mm]

Pole area, S = (0.03)^2 = 2.82810^-3 [mm^2]

Braking Torque Analysis

For the braking torque analysis, wevllowed the analysis

that been done by Lee. The iron core shape use in this
study was a round shape in diameter of 60 mm. For this
analysis, n, i, lg, and represent the number of
electromagnet turns, applied current, air-gap and
permeability of air, respectively. Here, the been taken as
12.568 x 10 -7 N.A-2 . For the electrical conductivity, it
was 2.73 x 10

Result and discussion

Conclusion

From this study, it can be concluded that thicker disc will

generate high torque which will approach the motor torque in
order to stop the disc rotation which in this study disc of 5 mm
is better than 4 mm of thickness. Smaller air-gap will produce
high braking torque and give better performance to the
electromagnetic braking which air-gap of 1 mm shows the best
result compared to 3 mm and 5 mm gap. Eddy current brakes
provide non-contact means to produce braking forces required
to decelerate the motion of a moving object.
Reference

1) M.Z. Baharom, M.Z. Nuawi, G. Priyandoko, S.M. Harris,

L.M. Siow, Eddy current braking study for
brake disc of aluminium, copper and zinc, Regional
Engineering Postgraduate Conference, 2011

2) Information on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6061_aluminium_alloy

3) K. Kukutschovaa, V. Roubiceka, K. Malachovab, Z.

Pavlickovab, R. Holusab, J. Kubackovac, V. Mickac,
D. MacCrimmond, P. Filip d., Wear Mechanism in
 Automotive Brake Materials, Wear Debris and its Potential
Environmental Impact, International Journal of Wear, 2009.

4) K.Lee, K.Park, Environmental optimal robust control of a

contactless brake system using an eddy current, Journal
of Mechatronics, 1998.