Magnetic coupling by using levitation characteristics of YBCO superconductors

A mechanical system which uses high lateral restoring forces of high-Tc materials as the driving force for a magnetic coupling is proposed. As the basic study of the superconducting magnetic coupling, the relationship between the lateral restoring force and levitation force, transmitted torque characteristics as a function of a twisting angle and clearance, and damping characteristics of the coupling were examined. Superiorities of the coupling such as high damping coefficients and high stability against time and twisting angle were revealed. A magnetic force sensor system was used to evaluate the superconducting characteristics of materials, and nonuniform distribution of repulsive force was observed for the YBCO pellet fabricated by the melt-powder-melt-growth process. The improvement of the homogeneity was achieved by compensating for the composition rate which had changed during the quenching process.