HyperloopTT unveils full-scale capsule for 760mph travel
A capsule designed to carry passengers and goods between cities at speeds of up to 760mph has been unveiled by Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT).
The 32m long capsule will help realise HyperloopTT’s ambition of delivering electrically-powered hyperloop transportation systems that run on proprietary passive magnetic levitation and a linear induction motor inside 4m diameter tubes mounted on pylons.
Designed to carry between 28 to 40 passengers, the capsules would depart every 40 seconds and transport 164,000 passengers a day on one line running at full efficiency.
HyperloopTT says its breakthrough technology is a next-generation passive magnetic levitation system called Inductrack. With the magnets configured in a Halbach array, the system – which has been tested and validated on a full-scale passive levitation track – enables passive levitation over an unpowered but conductive track.
Dubbed Quintero One, the capsule – revealed during a ceremony in Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain – is constructed almost completely from HyperloopTT’s Vibranium, a specially made dual-layer smart composite material that is claimed to be eight times stronger than aluminium and ten times stronger than steel alternatives. Vibranium is also embedded with sensors to wirelessly transmit information such as the capsule’s temperature, stability, and integrity.
The capsule was built by project partner Airtificial in southern Spain and will now be delivered to HyperloopTT’s research and development centre in Toulouse, France for additional assembly and integration into the system, before it is used on one of the first commercial tracks.
“Today we have unveiled a new type of transportation vessel built with an industry high percentage of composite, which makes the Hyperloop capsule perhaps the safest transportation vehicle in the world,” said Airtificial co-founder and chairman, Rafael Contreras.
“The creation of this capsule represents over a year long journey of the best expertise in design, engineering, and the development of cutting edge materials,” said Dirk Ahlborn HyperloopTT co-founder and CEO. “In just five years we have solved and improved upon all of the technology needed for Hyperloop with our new levitation system, vacuum pumps, batteries, and smart composites. This capsule will be a part of one of the most efficient transportation systems ever made.”
“In 2019, this capsule will be fully optimised and ready for passengers,” said Bibop Gresta, chairman and co-founder of HyperloopTT. “Since we have taken major steps in solving government regulations with our safety certification guidelines and insurance frameworks, we are now closer than ever to bringing Hyperloop to the world.”
Quintero One Hyperloop Passenger Capsule
Specifications:
Length: 32m (105 feet)
Inner cabin length: 15m (50 feet)
Weight: 5,000kg (5 tons)
Other components include:
21,000 skilled engineering hours
5,000 skilled assembly hours
82 carbon fibre panels
72 sensors
75,000 rivets
Source: The Engineer
