Electromagnetic levitation of a solid metallic torus

The electromagnetic levitation of a solid metallic torus has been investigated using both experiments and analysis. The investigation was primarily focused on bulk stability and the magnetic pressure distribution on the toroidal surface. Three different induction coil designs were studied: a two-loop design, a reverse-loop design, and a basket design.; The two-loop design did not exhibit bulk stability. The reverse-loop design was shown to exhibit bulk stability, however the magnetic pressure distribution on the surface of the torus is inadequate for levitating large amounts of molten metal. Stable levitation could not be achieved during experiments with the basket design, due to output voltage limitations of the available power supply. The analysis of the basket design showed that it should exhibit bulk stability if properly energized, and that the magnetic pressure distribution is adequate for levitating large amounts of molten metal.