Development of an Energy-Efficient Magnetic Drive for a Levitating Carousel-Type Milking Platform

The paper demonstrates the feasibility of using rotary conveyor–type carousel milking installations at large livestock farms and complexes in Russia with 1,000 or more head of cattle. In conventional designs, platform rotation is provided by geared motors equipped with polyurethane drive wheels that transmit torque through frictional contact with metal profiles curved along the platform circumference. To eliminate the drive and support wheels of the rail-wheel propulsion system as well as the associated labor and financial costs resulting from wear-related replacement, the paper considers the potential application of magnetic levitation technology and the development of an energy-efficient magnetic drive. ( Research purpose ) To develop a model of a levitating carousel-type milking platform. ( Materials and methods ) The proposed approach is based on a previously developed technological scheme using axially magnetized rectangular permanent magnets. The study considers a drive system for a 36-stall milking platform employing a cylindrical magnetic transmission with external meshing and derives the fundamental equation describing the rotational dynamics of the system. ( Results and discussion ) Based on the dynamic analysis of the rotating platform, the study determined the moment of inertia of the platform with animals, the circumferential force, the torques acting on the driving and driven wheels, their angular velocities, and the relationship between the platform’s angular acceleration and the acceleration time. ( Conclusions ) The study substantiates the topological parameters of the cylindrical magnetic transmission, including the installation air gaps and the spacing of magnets on the driving and driven wheels of the platform, as well as the kinematic parameters of the system, namely the meshing angles and radii of the driving and driven wheels. A magnetostatic analysis determined the normal and tangential components of the magnetic interaction forces. In addition, the study developed an algorithm for calculating the cylindrical magnetic transmission, enabling the determination of magnetic fi eld parameters and the dimensions of the permanent magnets for the drive system of a levitating carousel-type milking platform.