Topic: Elon Musk's Hyperloop
Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and Space-X, chairman of SolarCity), just released his draft design for what he calls the "Hyperloop" transport system. I've been following this with some interest, and I wonder if anyone else has.
The basic idea is this:
Build a pair of 11'-diameter tubes along California's Interstate 5, up on pylons so they don't interfere with traffic or wildlife.
The tubes are maintained at low pressure (but not vacuum) with fans at stations.
Transport pods have battery-powered fans that suck in air in front of them and blow it down to create an air cushion and backwards to create propulsion.
The pods are designed for aerodynamic lift at high speed (700+ mph), floating on the cushion of air.
The pod fans are augmented by linear electric motors at stations and every 70 miles along the way to provide initial acceleration, periodic boost, and final deceleration.
Most of the power comes from solar panels on top of the tubes, supported with compressed-air storage.
Luggage would be stowed at the back of the pod and loaded and unloaded by Hyperloop staff.
Musk gives substantial detail in the PDF on design and cost, and estimates a total cost of less than 6$ billion—much less than the high-speed rail currently planned—for 350-mile LA-to-SF travel in just 30 minutes.
I've reviewed some of the 57-page PDF, and design challenges I see are:
How does the pod enter and exit the low-pressure tube at a station so passengers can enter and exit under normal pressure? Musk's answer is airlocks, which seems slow and unreliable.
How do pods (which are envisioned as separate transports), avoid each other along the route if some are entering and exiting at different points? (Trains do this by being few and far between; cars do this with multiple lanes.)
Airport-style gate-checked luggage handling is inherently slow and inefficient. The 30-minute journey could be more than doubled by the loading and unloading process.
Overall, Musk envisions airport-style security and safety checks (TSA, seat belts, etc.), which are the worst parts of flying (after delays) and exactly what rail passengers want to avoid.
Last edited by Zarban (2013-08-12 22:31:40)
