Experimental Study of a Levitating Carousel-Type Milking Platform

Previous studies have highlighted the potential of magnetic suspension technology for developing a levitating carousel-type milking platform based on permanent magnets and conducting its experimental evaluation. (Research purpose) This study aims to perform experimental investigations and magnetostatic calculations of a levitating “Carousel” milking platform using axially magnetized permanent magnets of rectangular shape, in accordance with the proposed technological schemes. (Materials and methods) Three configurations for placing axially magnetized neodymium permanent magnets with a cubic shape (0.01×0.01×0.01 meters) were examined for the rotating movable and stationary components of the carousel. A methodology was developed to determine the levitation and lateral air gaps between the movable and fixed magnets under both no-load and loaded conditions. (Results and discussion) An experimental scale model (1:33) of a levitating carousel-type milking platform with 24 positions was developed and tested. The most effective configuration was identified as the one in which magnets were placed directly opposite each other, with like poles facing each other and a tangential air gap of 0.004–0.002 meters, The magnets were positioned along concentric circles of equal radius on the movable and stationary parts of the platform. The levitation gap between the magnets was found to be inversely proportional to the applied load, which increased from 9 to 26.8 newtons as the radius of magnet placement decreased (from 0.1 to 0.06 meters) and the tangential gap narrowed (from 0.013-0.016 to 0.004-0.002 meters), while the levitation gap remained constant at 0.013 meters. (Conclusions) The maximum specific load-bearing capacity of the platform, taking into account the weight of the movable part (26.8 + 8 newtons), relative to the total mass of the 48 magnets (48 × 0.0074 = 0.355 kilograms), reached 98 newtons per kilogram. The value is close to the theoretical estimate of 84 newtons per kilogram, confirming the efficiency of the proposed magnetic suspension configuration.