23 Universities advance to next round of Hyperloop competition - Polidicks

[img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Iceb5Ho.jpg[/img_thumb] [quote]Massachusetts Institute of Technology's team was awarded the top prize, and will now go on to build an actual pod to race on the under-construction track near SpaceX's Hawthorne, Calif. headquarters. The Delft University of Technology from the Netherlands were the next runners-up. Auburn University won in the category of best overall subsystem. Twenty-two teams in all will go on to test their pods in Hawthorne, although up to 10 other teams could also qualify after further judging in the coming weeks, according to SpaceX. ... The event was meant to generate excitement among engineers and the public for the tube-based, transonic, vacuum transport system popularized by the billionaire Musk in 2013. But it was also meant to serve as a rebuttal to skeptics who dismissed the Hyperloop as too fanciful, impractical, and expensive to exist in the real world. "The public wants something new," Musk told the attendees. "And you're going to give it to them."[/quote] [quote]Here's a full list of the winners, as provided by Texas A&M University: Best Overall Design Award: MIT Hyperloop Team, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Pod Innovation Award: Delft Hyperloop, Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) Pod Technical Excellence Award: Badgerloop, University of Wisconsin-Madison Pod Technical Excellence Award: Hyperloop at Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech Pod Technical Excellence Award: HyperXite, University of California Irvine Over teams advancing include: rLoop (non-student team) uWaterloo Hyperloop, University of Waterloo UWashington Hyperloop, University of Washington University of Toronto, University of Toronto RUMD Loop, University of Maryland and Rutgers University GatorLoop, University of Florida Team HyperLynx, University of Colorado-Denver Hyperloop UC, University of Cincinnati USCB Hyperloop, University of California-Santa Barbara bLoop, University of California-Berkeley TAMU Aerospace Hyperloop, Texas A&M WARR Hyperloop, Technical University of Munich (Germany) Purdue Hyperloop Design Team, Purdue University Codex, Oral Roberts University Lehigh Hyperloop, Lehigh University Keio Alpha, Keio University Drexel Hyperloop, Drexel University Carnegie Mellon Hyperloop, Carnegie-Mellon University [/quote] [url]http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/30/10877442/elon-musk-spacex-hyperloop-competition-awards[/url] 120 teams from around the world designed pods and the 23 best were chosen to advance. The teams will go on to build the pods that they designed, and race them at a track being built at the SpaceX factory in Hawthorne California. There are some pictures at the Twitter #breakapod or at the Texas A&M University Facebook page.

Was it any surprise that MIT won? They are the go-to people for getting the most bizarre engineering creations to function.

Texas A&M had 7 teams in, thank fuck one of them made it through. That would've been embarrassing for us.

[QUOTE=Bradyns;49641730]Was it any surprise that MIT won? They are the go-to people for getting the most bizarre engineering creations to function.[/QUOTE] they also have a lot of resources to throw at unusual projects, most places prioritize research funds to stuff they actually succeed in, its not really a bad thing but it how it goes i guess its pretty great that the hyperloop is being built at all, musk is like the edison of the 21st century, except without electricuting elephants

Oh sweet UW's team made it, didn't know if we would. "UWashington Hyperloop" is such a lame name though totally could've gone with the Husky Tube or something. Good luck to all the other teams though!

what is a hyperloop

[QUOTE=Kommodore;49642214]what is a hyperloop[/QUOTE] tl;dr super fast form of transportation involving a tunnel that's kept at low pressure to reduce drag. Here's the entry from TU Delft, which ended up being 2nd and awarded most innovative design. I couldn't find a concept video from MIT [video=youtube;eP8Bz_XCIrk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP8Bz_XCIrk[/video]

[QUOTE=Gnomical;49642159]Oh sweet UW's team made it, didn't know if we would. "UWashington Hyperloop" is such a lame name though totally could've gone with the Husky Tube or something. Good luck to all the other teams though![/QUOTE] Husky tube? Like fuck. We have enough awkward dog metaphors as is. Like BARC. or WOOF. etc. Husky tube sounds perverse, lol. UWash hyperloop emailed WOOF, and we wanted to help with the 3D printing, but someone broke all our printers :/ Edit: UWash concept seems nest I guess [t]https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/12644722_1660944307491028_7825528828624546597_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=70c489d726c96bad99bb022e7501ee49&oe=573E2DFB[/t]

Surprised to see UW-M on the list for an award.

I saw "gatorloop" and knew it had to be one of the southern states. Not surprised to see Waterloo though. Pretty big engineering division there.

Here's Elon Musk's (who looks like he's about ready to drop) talk and Q&A from the event: [video=youtube;ab2VVp1GfmA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab2VVp1GfmA[/video]

Hyperloop is crazy and unrealistic.

[QUOTE=rampageturke 2;49642688]Hyperloop is crazy and unrealistic.[/QUOTE] ...okay? if you're going to go into a thread dedicated to a subject and then denounce it as crazy and unrealistic you could at least provide an argument or two to discuss, instead of just making a post that adds literally nothing to the conversation

[QUOTE=rampageturke 2;49642688]Hyperloop is crazy and unrealistic.[/QUOTE] So was going to the moon.

[QUOTE=Zombii;49642722]...okay? if you're going to go into a thread dedicated to a subject and then denounce it as crazy and unrealistic you could at least provide an argument or two to discuss, instead of just making a post that adds literally nothing to the conversation[/QUOTE] It's going to be extremely expensive, requiring some costly and very regular maintainance and be energy intensive, which is what people want to move away from. It will be expensive to design due to it being a low pressure system. If you want a long "track" you will have to manufacture a long tube. The tube cant be rigid because it will just crack, the tube cant be in sections like modern bridges because it'll leak pressure, and the tubes have to be able to support the outside pressure. How are you going to keep long distances at the right pressure? Large pumps? Youll need quite a few of them to keep the pressure low. Long distances will be hard. Ok, so just have it short distances then. Whats the desire for this over short distances? The manufacture, design and maintenance costs will be big, the cost of riding one of these then will be big to offset these costs. Who is going to pay what I suspenct will be large costs to travel short distances when cars and trains will be cheaper. [editline]31st January 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Kwigg;49642729]So was going to the moon.[/QUOTE] This is a transport solution though [editline]31st January 2016[/editline] And dont forget safety, what if one of these pods crashes or derails or develops a pressure leak mid journey... In an enclosed low pressure tube....

Costly? Who knows it isn't even done being designed yet. Regular maintenance? Who knows it isn't even done being designed yet.. Energy intensive? The whole point of the system is to use less energy hence the low pressure tube... The pods will have linear induction motors that speed it up, they can work like regenerative braking in an EV and recover somewhere between 70% - 80% of the kinetic energy of the pod. So you are recovering a good chunk of the kinetic energy and you aren't losing that much to air resistance anymore. Safety? How do you even manage to derail this?

[QUOTE=Morgen;49642850]Costly? Who knows it isn't even done being designed yet. Regular maintenance? Who knows it isn't even done being designed yet.. Energy intensive? The whole point of the system is to use less energy hence the low pressure tube... The pods will have linear induction motors that speed it up, they can work like regenerative braking in an EV and recover somewhere between 70% - 80% of the kinetic energy of the pod. So you are recovering a good chunk of the kinetic energy and you aren't losing that much to air resistance anymore. Safety? How do you even manage to derail this?[/QUOTE] Designing isn't cheap, proper design for mass use takes time and skilled engineers. Now implement large elevated tubes that hold low pressure. You'll need to maintain all these tubes to keep pressure as you wouldn't want leaks. Regular maintenance of traditional rails is already required, now you're adding even more factors that need maintaining. The tubes, the guide track/rail, the system keeping it low pressure, the pods themselves and everything that comes with the pods. Ok, the operation of the pods is efficient, but what about maintaining the low pressure over long distances? That doesn't come for free, you'll need a good system to maintain it constantly along the length of the track/tubes. Going off the Delft design video, the outside of the pod is carbon fiber, curing carbon fiber is energy intensive and takes time. These things are going to be like what, 7ft at the widest point and much longer. Even done in segments you'll need something like a larger autoclave and then bonding them together. Carbon fiber isn't the most eco material out there. Ok, derailing isn't the best term to use but I don't know what other word to use. There's a "track" as seen in the Delft video that is used for braking and keep it in a straight line. you can't just discount the possibility of coming out of that track.

Ultimately the energy efficiency is going to come down to how much volume it can handle. The hyperloop could send 30 people in a pod for half the expense of sending a High Speed Train in half the time, but ultimately as train can carry hundreds or even upwards of a thousand people, it's not going to be feasible for mass transit unless it massively increases passenger numbers per hour. Not to mention that High Speed Trains can utilize a lot of existing infrastructure. With hyperloop, you'll not only need to build an entirely new system of transport, but locate suitable land in city centers for transport hubs. Unless they do that, then the station will be on the city outskirts and you'll be forced to use normal transport to get into the city (which kind of negates the point of it in the first place, much like the Shanghai maglev).

The tube is maintained at 0.015 psi, the figure was decided by working out what regular commercial pumps are capable of doing and the ability to compensate for minor leaks, so you don't need complex pumps or massive amounts of energy to do it. The pod glides along the walls of the tube without making any physical contact so maintenance is reduced. The only time physical contact is needed with anything is if the pods have to deploy their emergency braking systems. Sure you need to build a station for it somewhere but the land the tubes take would be fairly small since they are on stilts. The Hyperloop whitepaper covers some potential events that could happen and how to safely handle them: [QUOTE] [B]4.5.2. Capsule Depressurization[/B] Hyperloop capsules will be designed to the highest safety standards and manufactured with extensive quality checks to ensure their integrity. In the event of a minor leak, the onboard environmental control system would maintain capsule pressure using the reserve air carried onboard for the short period of time it will take to reach the destination. In the case of a more significant depressurization, oxygen masks would be deployed as in airplanes. Once the capsule reached the destination safely it would be removed from service. Safety of the onboard air supply in Hyperloop would be very similar to aircraft, and can take advantage of decades of development in similar systems. In the unlikely event of a large scale capsule depressurization, other capsules in the tube would automatically begin emergency braking whilst the Hyperloop tube would undergo rapid re-pressurization along its entire length. [B]4.5.3. Capsule Stranded in Tube[/B] A capsule becoming stranded in the Hyperloop tube is highly unlikely as the capsule coasts the majority of the distance at high speed and so there is no propulsion required for more than 90% of the journey. If a capsule were somehow to become stranded, capsules ahead would continue their journeys to the destination unaffected. Capsules behind the stranded one would be automatically instructed to deploy their emergency mechanical braking systems. Once all capsules behind the stranded capsule had been safely brought to rest, capsules would drive themselves to safety using small onboard electric motors to power deployed wheels. All capsules would be equipped with a reserve air supply great enough to ensure the safety of all passengers for a worst case scenario event. [B]4.5.4. Structural Integrity of the Tube in Jeopardy[/B] A minor depressurization of the tube is unlikely to affect Hyperloop capsules or passengers and would likely be overcome by increased vacuum pump power. Any minor tube leaks could then be repaired during standard maintenance. In the event of a large scale leak, pressure sensors located along the tube would automatically communicate with all capsules to deploy their emergency mechanical braking systems. [/QUOTE]

So what happens when one of these catches fire from a laptop battery or something. There is no way the passengers will survive something like that.

[QUOTE=Smoot;49643293]So what happens when one of these catches fire from a laptop battery or something. There is no way the passengers will survive something like that.[/QUOTE] A well-designed fire suppression system, I suppose.

[QUOTE=Morgen;49643054]The tube is maintained at 0.015 psi, the figure was decided by working out what regular commercial pumps are capable of doing and the ability to compensate for minor leaks, so you don't need complex pumps or massive amounts of energy to do it. The pod glides along the walls of the tube without making any physical contact so maintenance is reduced. The only time physical contact is needed with anything is if the pods have to deploy their emergency braking systems. Sure you need to build a station for it somewhere but the land the tubes take would be fairly small since they are on stilts. The Hyperloop whitepaper covers some potential events that could happen and how to safely handle them:[/QUOTE] I'm not an engineer, but 1 millibar sounds like a pretty ambitious target for such a huge volume.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;49642917]Ultimately the energy efficiency is going to come down to how much volume it can handle. The hyperloop could send 30 people in a pod for half the expense of sending a High Speed Train in half the time, but ultimately as train can carry hundreds or even upwards of a thousand people, it's not going to be feasible for mass transit unless it massively increases passenger numbers per hour. Not to mention that High Speed Trains can utilize a lot of existing infrastructure.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]The Hyperloop is sized to allow expansion as the network becomes increasingly popular. The capacity would be on average 840 passengers per hour which is more than sufficient to transport all of the 6 million passengers traveling between Los Angeles and San Francisco areas per year. In addition, this accounts for 70% of those travelers to use the Hyperloop during rush hour. The lower cost of traveling on Hyperloop is likely to result in increased demand, in which case the time between capsule departures could be significantly shortened.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Morgen;49643533][/QUOTE] 840 passengers an hour is nothing in mass transit lol. Highways can typically handle 4000 passengers an hour, while High Speed Railways are capable of 12,000.

[QUOTE=Bradyns;49641730]Was it any surprise that MIT won? They are the go-to people for getting the most bizarre engineering creations to function.[/QUOTE] I'm just amazed my old university came in second, and even nabbed the innovation award :v:

In a year we'll have 3 companies with test tracks, and at least 23 teams with different pod designs to test. If it's uneconomical it will be glaringly obvious pretty quickly.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;49643579]840 passengers an hour is nothing in mass transit lol. Highways can typically handle 4000 passengers an hour, while High Speed Railways are capable of 12,000.[/QUOTE] Missing the point? It clearly states the time between capsule departures can be significantly reduced if the demand is there.

[QUOTE=Morgen;49643647]Missing the point? It clearly states the time between capsule departures can be significantly reduced if the demand is there.[/QUOTE] But those are individual capsules which are shot out. Each capsule can only hold about 30 people, and you need clearance times inbetween them. The more you add, the more it impacts on safety. How much more can the clearance time be reduced? If you sent one out every 30 seconds (which is very generous), that's two per minute, 120 an hour. That means you can only manage about 3600 passengers an hour if we assume 30 per capsule. That's only just managing to compete with the roads.

It might not be plausible as an extensive mass transit system, but I imagine systems set up between major cities/locations (something like New York to Boston and whatnot) would be profitable. More akin to flying somewhere than taking a train. There wouldn't be smaller stops along the way, just "emergency" stops that it only stops at when something is wrong, somewhere for people to get off.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;49643668]But those are individual capsules which are shot out. Each capsule can only hold about 30 people, and you need clearance times inbetween them. The more you add, the more it impacts on safety. How much more can the clearance time be reduced? If you sent one out every 30 seconds (which is very generous), that's two per minute, 120 an hour. That means you can only manage about 3600 passengers an hour if we assume 30 per capsule. That's only just managing to compete with the roads.[/QUOTE] If you are competing with roads then that is pretty amazing. You are sending 3600 passengers an hour a fairly long distance in a short amount of time, with solar panels on top of the tube generating far more power than the system requires. It will pay for itself in short order and you can build another tube. [editline]31st January 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=MaverickIB;49643690]It might not be plausible as an extensive mass transit system, but I imagine systems set up between major cities/locations (something like New York to Boston and whatnot) would be profitable. More akin to flying somewhere than taking a train. There wouldn't be smaller stops along the way, just "emergency" stops that it only stops at when something is wrong, somewhere for people to get off.[/QUOTE] Hyperloop is intended for just that, travel between cities. However it is capable of having multiple stations along the way with joins in the tube according to the white paper.