Linear Electric Machines, Drives, and MAGLEVs Handbook

1 Fields, Forces, and Materials for LEMs

Linear electric machines (LEMs) are electromagnetic, electrostatic, piezoelectric, and magnetostriction force devices capable of producing directly progressive or oscillatory translational (linear) motion.

They transform electric energy to linear motion mechanical energy via magnetic, electrostatic, etc., energy storage. Just as rotary electric machines, they may operate as motors (from electric to mechanical energy) or as generators (from mechanical to electric energy, Figure 1.1).

LEMs [1–11] may be considered as counterparts of rotary electric machines (as visible again in Chapter 2).

However, the absence of mechanical transmission in LEMs opens up the possibility of inventing a myriad of new topologies ...