Risks:
One major risk for our project is the speed-up coils. While working on the solenoids, we realized that we didn’t produce enough magnetic field to propel our carrier. We confirmed with testing with a singular magnet that the magnetic field we have produced is strong enough to propel the magnet, but the goal of these coils is to propel the carrier across the track. We have made changes to our solenoid such as changing the radius, changing the amount of turn, and the location of the solenoids on the track. We calculated that we produced a stronger magnetic field but have also run into the same issue of not being able to propel the carrier. This poses some risk for our project since the MVP heavily relies on being able to move the carrier along the meter long track.
Another risk for our project is the stability of our carrier. The stability of our carrier is determined by the ratio and of magnets along the track and carrier and the design of the track and carrier. We started working on the two-to-one track design due to issues with stability in the one-to-one option. While this was slightly more stable, we noticed that magnets would get stuck in gaps in between groups of magnets. The stability of the carrier on the track affects the ability for the whole maglev train to be successful.
Design Changes:
We have decided to make multiple changes to our solenoids such as increasing the radius of the turns, the location of the solenoid on the track, etc. in order to help produce a stronger magnetic field to propel the carrier. We found out that using the casing of the 24 AWG Copper Wire allows for a larger radius for the turns as well as more stable and tighter turns, thus helping out in producing a larger magnetic field.
We have ordered rectangular magnets. They will be an alternative to the two-to-one circle magnet track with less possibility of magnets getting stuck do to their being no major gaps between the magnets (they create a straight line).
We have a CAD design with a guide way for the track. This would limit the movement of the track, decreasing the chances that the track would flip over.
Schedule Change:
We are on schedule