Hyperloop
A new video has been released by start-up, Hyperloop Technologies. The firm started by a former SpaceX engineer has just appointed a new CEO, and certainly looks like they are about to make Elon Musk's transportation idea a reality. |
Hyperloop Technologies is aiming to build a two-mile test track at its LA campus by the end of 2016, or early 2017. The company just hired a new CEO, Rob Lloyd who was the former Cisco president of sales and development. Lloyd will take over for Brogan BamBrogan, who will now serve as the company's CTO.
Lloyd called the Hyperloop vision “compelling and disruptive” as well as “the most transformative new mode of transportation that the world has seen in decades.” He also announced that his team consists of more than 50 full-time employees across engineering, design, manufacturing, legal, and human resources.
"We have custom built a wind tunnel that allows us to do both single blade and cascade tests over a wide variety of speeds & pressures." |
Some of the unique innovations that the team at Hyperloop Tech is working on include the following:
Compressor
Each HyperPod has a compressor on its forward facing surface that takes in the air in front of it instead of displacing it. This significantly reduces the drag on the Pod as it travel through the tube. Hyerloop is developing this unique compressor technology to operate at the very high-speeds and low-pressures experienced during operation. "We have custom built a wind tunnel that allows us to do both single blade and cascade tests over a wide variety of speeds & pressures. This will also allow us to test scale models of the innovative HyperPod concepts," they claim.| Related articles |
Levitation
To support the HyperPod and payload during operation, Hyperloop is baselining the use of air bearings. "We have built a Levitation Test Rig to evaluate a variety of air bearing configurations at surface speeds up to 740mph. We’re also looking at some intriguing alternatives to air bearings such as a passive magnetic levitation (maglev) design."Propulsion
All electric linear motors are used to propel the HyperPods through the tube. The same motors are used to brake the pods during normal operation, allowing us to recapture much of the energy. "We are optimizing and innovating on the full system of elements required for our high speed propulsion system. These systems include: advanced energy storage, high-power drives & power electronics, high-speed controls, and our custom electromagnetic motor," states the press release.Tube Manufacturing
"We are innovating heavily on the tube architecture, construction, and manufacturing process in an effort to build an extremely strong and cost effective tube structure which can be built and deployed hundreds of kilometers at a time."Hyperloop could potentially make the trip from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes at promised speeds of close to 800 miles per hour.
SOURCE The Verge
| By 33rd Square | Embed |
0 comments:
Post a Comment