Analysis of the Levitation Forces Generated by High-Temperature Superconductors Located within the Magnetic Field of a UAV Catapult System

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the levitation forces applied to the launch truck of an innovative UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) catapult system with high-temperature superconductors. The levitation force is a result of the Meissner effect that occurs between a YBCO high-temperature superconductor and the magnetic field generated by neodymium magnets. This paper is an elaboration of the experiments conducted to measure the levitation force value as a function of the gap generated by the superconductors.

Keywords

• physics
• magnetic levitation
• high-temperature superconductors
• Meissner effect