Hyperloop Technology

 Hyperloop Introduction

The Hyperloop Alpha concept was first published in August 2013, proposing and examining a route running from the Los Angeles region to the San Francisco Bay Area roughly following the Interstate 5 corridor.The paper conceived of a hyperloop system that would propel passengers along the 350-mile (560 km) route at an average speed of around 600 mph (970 km/h), with a top speed of 760 mph (1,200 km/h), allowing for a travel time of 35 minutes, which is considerably faster than current rail or air travel times. Preliminary cost estimates for this LA–SF suggested route were included in the white paper—US$6 billion for a passenger-only version, and US$7.5 billion for a somewhat larger-diameter version transporting passengers and vehicles although transportation analysts had doubts that the system could be constructed on that budget; some analysts claimed that the Hyperloop would be several billion dollars overbudget, taking into consideration construction, development and operation costs

Content   

  

1. Principle

2.Where did the idea came for

3.Who is developing

4.Where will the first track built

5.Cost

Principle

Hyperloop is a proposed system of transport that would see pods or containers travel at high speeds through a tube that has been pumped into a near-vacuum. The train pods would either float using magnetic levitation technology or float using air caster "skis", similar to how pucks travel across an air hockey table.

With so little friction in the tunnel, the pods would be able to travel at immense speeds with a projected top speeds of 760mph.

The pod would initially launch using an electric motor before levitation takes place and the pod can glide at cruising speed in the low-pressure environment. Tunnels for the Hyperloop would be built either above or below ground, at only around 3m in diameter, taking up a smaller ground footprint than traditional rail and road.

Many of the current designs feature autonomous pods that can be launched on demand as frequently as every 20 seconds. Others suggest eco-friendly designs, powering the pressure pumps with clean energy such as solar.

          Where did the idea came 

The idea of travelling through a vacuum tube and been around for more than 100 years. In fact, some of the very first underground railways in the UK ran using an air pressure system. But the current idea for the Hyperloop came from Elon Musk, the entepreneur behind PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX in 2012.

Speaking at an event in California, he proposed a system of transport that would be immune to weather, twice the speed of a plane and have a lower power consumption. He later went on to describe his technology as a cross between a railgun, Concorde and an air hockey table.

Musk claimed high-speed rail was too expensive and too slow in a paper he released in 2013. For distances of around 900 miles, a Hyperloop tube would be a more efficient means of transporting people and transport, he claimed.

From an early stage, Hyperloop's design was made open source. Musk's own commercial re-usable rocket venture Space X would have input in researching and funding the ideas, but would not directly make the first Hyperloops. That would fall to private investors and entrepreneurs. 

Who is Developing

Space X has held initial design competitions for teams to build and test pods which could be used on the Hyperloop. Running since 2015, there have been more than 1,000 team entries to the competition to work on system, including a team from the University of Edinburgh which has reached the finals, to be held in August.

Since the launch of the competition, companies have joined the race to develop the technology. The main runners include Hyperloop Transportation Technologies and Hyperloop One.

     Where will the first track built

Much of the demand for Hyperloop development and testing has come from outside of the US. The Netherlands and Finland in Europe have expressed interest as becoming the next locations for testing tracks by Hyperloop One. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are also in the mix, as Dubai's DP World group is a major investor in the technology.

Some other proposed routes are:-

• Estonia-Finland, 56 miles
• Vienna-Budapest, 150 miles
• The Netherlands, 266 miles
• Corsica-Sardinia, 280 miles
• Helsinki-Stockholm, 300 miles
• Liverpool-Glasgow, 339 miles
• Spain-Morocco, 391 miles
• London-Edinburgh, 414 miles
• Poland, 415 miles
• Cardiff-Glasgow, 657 miles
• Germany round trip, 1,237 miles
• Five proposed routes in India
• 11 other proposed routes in the US

Expenditure or cost

Musk projected that his proposed Los Angeles route would cost around $6bn, or $11.5m per mile, compared to $68bn for a high-speed rail link. However, leaked documents from Hyperloop One suggested even a shorter 107-mile loop in California would still cost up to $13bn, or $121m per mile.