Enforcement of Levitation Force by Capturing Magnetic Flux between YBa2Cu3O7-x Superconductor Bulk and Permanent Magnet

An iron block was placed on a permanent magnet (PM) as a path to capture the magnetic flux between a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) bulk and a PM. The effects of the magnetic flux for different iron block thicknesses (0, 2, 4, and 6 mm), configurations, and dimensions were experimentally determined. The optimal conditions for increasing the levitation force, which increased with decreasing air gap between the iron block and the PM, and with increasing iron block thickness, were determined. As the area of the iron block decreased, the levitation force increased, reaching a saturation point. Some iron block configurations acted as a path to capture the magnetic flux, and a higher levitation force was observed for a certain gap distance. Software simulation results support the obtained experimental results. (C) 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics