Simulation of motion of an electromagnetically levitated sphere

This paper studies the vibrator vertical motion of a metallic sphere placed in a time-varying magnetic field. The magnetic field is produced by a set of coaxial loops carrying high-frequency electric currents. A mathematical model for the motion of the sphere is developed and examined via numerical simulations for various materials and magnetic field parameters. The contribution of this paper is the development of the levitation force as a function of the specimen velocity. (C) 2001 Academic Press.