Maglev Guideway Design Issues

This paper reports results from guideway analyses conducted as part of the National Maglev Initiative (NMI), a government-industry effort from 1989 to 1994, formed to encourage the development of U.S. maglev technology and to assess its potential application within the U.S. transportation system. Covered here are some key guideway design issues that were common to the designs assessed for the NMI, and to maglev guideways in general. They represent aspects that will need additional attention in future efforts to produce structurally sound and economical maglev guideways. These recommendations come from the analyses conducted by a team from the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Illinois, and Alfred Benesch and Company. The recommendations focus on design philosophy and the development of general design criteria, guideway maintenance and the provision for future alignment adjustment in both the guideway and the magnets, foundation design, and the long-term performance of guideway materials and reinforcement. Generally, one of the main challenges to guideway designers is to produce a structure that will be easily maintainable to the narrow tolerances and precise alignment required for practical high-speed maglev operation.