Hyperloop Transportation Technology

In the United States today there are four conventional modes of transportation: rail, road, water, and air. These modes tend to be either relatively slow (road and water), expensive (air), or a combination of both (rail). In 2012, Industrialist Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, revealed his concept for a “fifth mode of transportation” calling it the Hyperloop. The Hyperloop is seeking to break this paradigm by being fast, inexpensive, and efficient.

Elon Musk’s proposal for the Hyperloop is a futuristic tube transport system that could go faster than the speed of sound. Musk’s proposal describes the Hyperloop as a “cross between a Concorde, a rail gun, and an air hockey table” and claims that it can never crash. The Hyperloop would transport capsules or pods carrying up to 28 passengers through networks of low pressure steel tubes at speeds of over 700 mph. This Hyperloop transportation technology (HTT), as proposed, would cut travelling time between Los Angeles and San Francisco to 35 minutes or less. This technology could also be applied to allow for Hyperloop networks to cover distances of up to 900 miles.

The Hyperloop is engineered to overcome many problems that are faced when designing high speed modes of transportation. At speeds of over 700 mph, the use of wheels is no longer viable due to large amounts of friction that would be generated. The Hyperloop looks to overcome this obstacle by using a self-sustaining air propulsion method, similar to an air hockey table, to suspend the pods in the tube. The pods would be propelled by linear induction motors, which is a similar technology that is more commonly employed in rail guns. These motors would be located along different sections of the tubes. This will allow for the pods to accelerate and decelerate to the appropriate speeds needed to travel each section of the tube. This technology makes the Hyperloop more effective then travelling by air. Pods in the Hyperloop network will be able to reach their cruising speed very quickly and would not need to spend time reaching altitudes high enough for planes to travel at supersonie speeds. This allows for the Hyperloop to be the most efficient means of travel within its networks range of travel.

The pods used in the Hyperloop system would have an electrically driven inlet fan and air compressor located on the nose of the pod to maintain the vacuum like effect that is needed for high speed tube travel. This compressor would actively transfer high pressure air from the front of the pod to the rear so that pressure will not build up in front of the pod, essentially slowing it down. This is essential because each pod in the Hyperloop network needs to be travelling at the correct speed to ensure safety within the system.

The ability to travel quickly and for a low cost will allow our country to become more connected and encourage people from rural areas to travel to new places promoting tourism. A Hyperloop prototype is now being built in Texas and will consist of a 5 mile track that will be used for the testing of this new technology. If the tests go according to plan we can expect to see Hyperloop networks begin to be installed as early as 2016. When this Hyperloop transportation technology is finally introduced the way we travel around the country will be changed forever.