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This thesis presents the development of an advanced battery system within Swissloop’s continuous efforts to advance Hyperloop technology. For the 2023 prototype, several innovations were introduced, including a new Double Sided Reluctance Motor and levitation system. These additions necessitated the creation of a new power supply system capable of meeting their energy requirements. To fulfill these demands, custom-made Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries were manufactured, and an improved Battery Management System was designed, assembled, and subjected to thorough testing. The system boasts a high level of autonomy and can be easily detached from the prototype when necessary. It incorporates newly developed software based on FreeRTOS and actively monitors 292 individual sensors to ensure the safety of the battery system.

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.

The rise in mobility and demand for fast movement brings the traditional modes of transport to their limits. A broader development of transport systems is crucial. The Hyperloop pushes the boundaries and enables an efficient and safe way of transport. With the principle of a pneumatic tube, transport capsules, so-called pods, travel at high speeds through a low-pressure tube to minimize aerodynamic drag. To guarantee a solid development, aerodynamic phenomena need to be investigated and addressed. In the present bachelor thesis, the aerodynamic design system for a pod participating in a Hyper- loop Pod Competition is developed. The design-by-simulation system consists of three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design (CAD) and the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The CFD simulation part is the main topic in this thesis. Various three-dimensional CFD simulations at partial-vacuum condition were performed, analyzed and compared whereby the aerodynamic drag on the vehicle’s surface could noticeably be reduced. Based on the design-by-simulation system, the pod’s shell geometry was improved, drag reduction of 19 percent was achieved. Further, the optimized shape was simulated and analyzed for conditions with different system pressure. The results build a firm foundation for further aerodynamic elaboration and investigation for the Hyperloop concept. On this basis, it is recommended to perform physical tests and measurements of the pod to validate the obtained CFD results.

Mobility is one of the main dilemmas facing a sustainable, clean-energy future. How can people and cargo be transported over long distances, without expending large amounts of fossil fuel energies or producing a large carbon footprint? How can this be done quickly and efficiently? Finding a mode of transportation which is energy-efficient, inexpensive, and even offers passenger transport is the task which the Swissloop team is striving towards each day. We as a team are currently focused on building the first ever Swiss solution for the Hyperloop. We are proud to say that our Swissloop product aims to be the fastest form of ground transportation ever conceived. Swissloop’s long term vision is to find ways to propel its pod capsules at speeds in excess of 1,000 km/h or 600 mi/h, while at the same time, having the smallest impact possible on our environment. These incredibly fast, yet energy-efficient ground speeds are to be realized by means of a magnetic linear accelerator. Therefore, we at Swissloop are researching and developing a linear induction motor prototype to be the foundation for future high-speed linear propulsion drives for Hyperloop-like systems. Developing an efficient yet powerful Linear Induction Motor (LIM) is key to Swissloop’s future as a sustainable Hyperloop transportation company. Passenger and cargo capsules need to be accelerated via some form of a high-speed linear accelerator – and a LIM is believed to be one of the best options for such a system. Before such a feat can be accomplished, scalable prototype motors should be developed in the short to medium term to help understand and formulate future, more complex linear accelerator systems. Therefore, the aim of the thesis is to develop a prototype LIM – providing Swissloop with a first iteration of a sustainable and efficient, yet powerful linear drive system.

Typically, the wagons of a freight train do not have an electric train supply (ETS), which is in contrast to passenger coaches, where such a supply is used for coach lighting and heating. An emerging application, which, however, requires an electric power supply, is condition monitoring of freight wagons, e.g. an anti-lock braking system, or of the transported goods. It has the potential of saving costs and giving additional benefit to the freight wagon's operator. Therefore, systems suitable for providing auxiliary electric power in the watt-range on a freight wagon are analyzed in this thesis. State-of-the-art auxiliary energy generation systems as, e.g., axle generators on freight wagons lack the possibility of a cost-effective retrofit. Therefore, energy harvesting (EH), which can, according to the literature, generate power from temperature gradients, radiation, mass flow, and vibration is analyzed further as it is expected to be a more acceptable approach. However, power ratings of such systems typically range from a few microwatts to milliwatts. In order to increase the power supply capability, providing auxiliary power on a freight wagon with EH from kinetic energy is pursued further. Harvesting electric energy from the kinetic energy of a moving conductive surface (MCS) is analyzed as a high power delivering capability of such system is expected. Specifications for the system can be summarized as follows: MCS of steel, similar in composition to a typical freight wagon's wheel, wheel speed of v_2=80km/h, harvesting contactless over an air gap of 10mm, and finally providing an electrical output power of P>5W. As no severe modifications (as e.g. mounting permanent magnets) on the MCS are allowed, the only feasible option is to extract power electrodynamically. Hence, an EH system is building up a magnetic field, which excites eddy currents in the MCS. Similar to the operation of an induction machine, eddy currents and the magnetic field build up Lorentz forces, which establish an electromechanical energy conversion/transfer. Initially, a single-sided linear induction machine (SLIM) in generator operation mode is considered for this task. An output power scaling law is derived and a prototype test setup is built. The power scaling law, together with an experimental verification shows that EH/energy generation with a stator of reasonable size (covering 47cm^2 of MCS surface) is only possible for low air gap widths (

In 2015, SpaceX announced an international competition for student teams to design and build prototype pods to compete on a one-mile test track at their HQ in Hawthorne, CA. The track would be contained in a partial vacuum tube, and student teams were given near free reign in their design and build process. Of considerable interest in Hyperloop development is what mechanism of lift it should use—magnetic levitation or air bearings. In this Thesis, a novel approach is taken to the system design of a pod capable of levitating itself with compressed air, or air bearings. By doing so, drag is essentially eliminated from the system, and the pod will be able to travel at very high speeds with little power requirements. Building a half-scale pod and testing it on the track is considered a feasible way to test air bearings at high velocities. Since that has never been done before, the main goal of this research is to design and build a pod capable of doing so, given the input parameters provided by SpaceX. The prototype pod detailed in this thesis has been designed and built, and will be tested on the SpaceX test track. A new air bearing design is proposed for future work. While the SpaceX competition gave motivation for this work, the research conducted in this thesis, including evaluation of various levitation and braking mechanisms, design methodology, and parameter design, are applicable to other engineering challenges.

The future is bright. Technology is progressing at accelerating rates. Cities are experiencing a resurgence in population growth, which in turn is pushing transport systems to simultaneously expand and improve. The resulting effects have led to intercity travel becoming faster, cheaper, safer and increasingly more convenient. With the introduction of the Hyperloop as a novel means to travel, a newfound interest has been sparked regarding the promising future of transportation and mass transit. This thesis is a pursuit of an understanding for the relationship between urban infrastructure and architectural form. The means of movement within any city is a critical element for defining many of its social, economical, and physical characteristics. Mass transit is vital to not only the functioning of a city, but also its identity. The proposed Hyperloop Station celebrates this monumental novelty for intercity travel. Through its architecture the station enables an experience that fosters a better comprehension and appreciation for the organization and structure of the surrounding urban fabric. Whether newly arriving or soon to be departing, the aim is to establish a unique dialog between the traveler, the city, and its transit infrastructure.

Fuzzy logic control of a Hyperloop is carried out in this thesis. Hyperloop is being described hypothetically as a fifth mode of mass transportation and is a registered trademark of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). To inspire others to help in its development and make it a reality, the Hyperloop is being explored as open-source technology by SpaceX. In this thesis a near friction-less track is constructed and is fixed inside a tunnel. External fans are used to produce air pressure inside the tunnel to propel the vehicle down the track. Fuzzy Logic Control is used to stop the vehicle at a desired location. The objective is to stop the vehicle at various end point positions. It is assumed that the vehicle is traveling at or near the desired velocities before the Fuzzy Logic Controller become active. The results show that the Fuzzy Logic Controller is able to effectively stop the vehicle at or near the desired end point positions given a very dynamic and highly non-linear environment.