A SCIENTIFIC AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE HYPERLOOP AS IT PERTAINS TO MASS TRANSPORTATION by PETER THOMPSON Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Physics CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY August, 2019 2 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis of Peter Thompson Candidate for the degree of Master of Science*. Committee Chair Edward Caner Committee Member Dr. Robert Brown Committee Member Dr. Michael Marten Date of Defense May 22nd, 2019 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. 3 I would like to dedicate my work to my advisor Ed without his guidance, I never would have been able to accomplish this thesis. To my mother, Karen Foli, who through it all showed me patience and love. To my Father, John Thompson, whose ever-growing heart has shown me great kindness. Finally, to Jacqueline Krogmeier, who continually provided moral, spiritual and emotional support. 4 Table of Contents List of Tables ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 List of Figures --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Abstract ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 Defining the Hyperloop ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Defining High-Speed Rail (HSR) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Previous Hyperloop Proposals --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 High-Speed Interstate Travel: Historical Development ---------------------------------------- 11 The Hyperloop -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Present Technology and Viability ----------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Evacuation of Tubes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Levitation Methods --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Propulsion Estimation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 23 Construction of the Tube --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Safety and Reliability ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 Technology Readiness Level ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 High-Speed Rail: A Global Case Study ---------------------------------------------------------- 32 Japan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 China ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 38 France ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 39 California, United States --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 Discussion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45 Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47 References ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 5 List of Tables Table 1. Physical Constraints with Varying Pressure ------------------------------------------- 17 Table 2. Force of Air Drag by Velocity ---------------------------------------------------------- 26 Table 3. Costs from Building the Sanyo Line --------------------------------------------------- 37 6 List of Figures Figure 1. Model to 1km tube and piston ---------------------------------------------------------- 16 Figure 2. Work equation from classical mechanics --------------------------------------------- 16 Figure 3. Definition of Pressure ------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Figure 4. Figure 2 applied to Figure 3 ------------------------------------------------------------ 17 Figure 5. Equation to calculate work from a change in volume ------------------------------- 17 Figure 6. Required Air Tank Volume for Different Heights of Lift and Air bearing areas - 19 Figure 7. Diagram of a Halbach array ------------------------------------------------------------ 21 Figure 8. Force body diagram of the pods in the Hyperloop ----------------------------------- 24 Figure 9. Equation to calculate force of drag ---------------------------------------------------- 25 Figure 10. Defining work as the sum of the forces acting on the hyperloop pod ------------ 26 Figure 11. Velocity over time from Elon Musk’s (2013) Hyperloop report ------------------ 28 Figure 12. Velocity over time accounting for air drag ------------------------------------------ 28 Figure 13. Map of Japan and the Shinkansen lines in the country ----------------------------- 34 7 A Scientific and Economic Analysis of the Hyperloop as it Pertains to Mass Transportation Abstract by PETER THOMPSON This thesis discusses the technological and economic feasibility of the Hyperloop as it pertains to mass transportation. The Hyperloop transportation system as it has been proposed by Elon Musk in 2013 requires several technological advancements in vacuum and propulsion technology before a system such as this can even be built. Along with technological feasibility there is a great financial burden associated with these kinds of systems. As seem in High-speed rail across the world, the political, economic, and geographical challenges these systems face can delay projects for decades as seem in the California High-Speed Rail project. It is thus the conclusion of this these, that the technological readiness level for this project is not ready to be adopted for commercial use and if it were, the countries to adopt this system would have to allocate a large amount of time and resources to build the system. 8 A Scientific and Economic analysis of the Hyperloop As it Pertains to Mass Transportation In 2013, Elon Musk published his white paper outlining what he called the “HyperLoop” (Musk, 2013). Musk created this proposal in response to the California High-Speed Rail Project, a project that would connect San Francisco to Los Angeles with a passenger rail system. The high-speed rail (HSR) project’s growing costs and continuous extension of the project timeline was bothersome to Musk (Musk, 2013). When this proposal was released, the public’s response was very positive. The idea of traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than 40 minutes was, and still is, appealing. In fact, because of the open source status of the idea that Musk proposed, several companies were founded based upon the Hyperloop name and continue to this day; these companies explore the possibilities of this technology (“Hyperloop Transportation Technologies”, “Hyperloop One”). High-speed rail and the Hyperloop should not be confused, however. The form in which they transport passengers differs significantly. HSR is a passenger train that moves on wheels in open air and the Hyperloop consists of a vacuum sealed tube and some form of levitation. While the form factor is different, the goal of transporting passengers along a highly limited-access permanent-structure right-of-way is the same. It is for this reason this paper will compare these methods of transportation. Since 2013, however, little progress has been made on the front of Hyperloop transportation. Aside from a 1-mile track at the SpaceX campus, which is used for yearly competitions, and a few “prototype” tracks, which are in use by Virgin Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, there is little evidence that this technology 9 is ready for commercial use (Opgenoord et al., 2017). There have been research projects in China that have investigated the scientific merits of this transportation method with promising results but on a small scale (Deng et al. 2017). These research projects have been performed on tracks 6 meters in diameter, no longer than 45 meters and at top speeds no more than 50 km/h (Deng et al. 2017). As mentioned previously, there is still much work to be done before commercial viability. Technologically speaking, the hyperloop is plausible on small scales as seen in the research projects conducted in China. Yet, the projects that Musk and his predecessors proposed, which vary in length and geographical displacement, fall short in their theoretical applications due to the technological, economic, and political challenges they face many of which are similar to or exactly the same as HSR. Defining the Hyperloop To fully understand the purpose of this thesis, I will describe the Hyperloop and its importance to high-speed transportation. To begin, the Hyperloop, as it has been proposed, is a form of mass transportation that will move passengers or goods at speeds of 750 miles per hour or more. Furthermore, the Hyperloop uses encapsulated and pressurized pods to move at high speeds through evacuated tubes. High speeds are theoretically achievable because the evacuated tubes minimize air friction. Second, the Hyperloop levitates the pods carrying passengers and cargo via magnetic levitation technology or other means of levitation, thereby removing friction that occurs when wheels come into contact with rails. 10 Defining High-Speed Rail (HSR) High-Speed Rail (HSR) is defined as passenger