Advantages of a New Hyperloop Transport
Technology
E.E. Dudnikov
V.A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences,
65 Profsoyuznaya, Moscow 117997
Moscow, Russia
e_dudnik@ipu.ru
Abstract—In the paper, we consider the features of the new
revolutionary transportation technology (the Hyperloop
technology) proposed in the USA and associated with the use of
ultra-high-speed vacuum trains moving inside tubes with a
reduced internal air pressure. In doing so, we focus on Hyperloop
cargo systems for transporting standard 20-foot containers. Now
Russia has plans to build such a transport system in the Far East.
In the paper, we examine the technical parameters of the tube
and the capsule for the Hyperloop cargo systems and give some
estimates for such technical and economic indicators as the cost
of construction and the carrying capacity of the road. We discuss
the question of what the Hyperloop technology can offer to solve
serious transport problems of the modern world.
Keywords— Hyperloop technology, ultra-high-speed vacuum
trains, new applications of the Hyperloop technology.
I. INTRODUCTION
In the last few years in the world, there is a rapid
development of new technology in the field of transport
systems. There is a new form of transportation, which,
according to some experts, is becoming competitive with
traditional types of transport: car, train, plane, and boat. New
fifth mode of transport is associated with the use of an ultra-
fast Hyperloop vacuum train, moving on air or magnetic
cushion within the tubes with the small internal air pressure to
reduce resistance to movement. The train-capsule needs to
transport passengers and cargo with a maximum speed of 1220
km/h.
II. FEATURES OF THE HYPERLOOP TECHNOLOGY
The idea of trains was proposed by the famous American
engineer, inventor, and businessman-billionaire Elon Musk. In
his work [1], he described so-called "an alpha version" of the
Hyperloop transportation system project in California (USA)
connecting two large American cities Los Angeles and San
Francisco. The length of the line is 561 km.
This twin-tube road is intended for transportation of
passengers. It uses two tubes. In one tube driving of the
capsules happens forward, through another tube in the opposite
direction. The tube diameter is 2.23 m. The passenger capsule
has dimensions: 1.35 m in width, 1.1 m in height and 25-30 m
in length. The passengers in the capsule sit in individual seats
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as in a car. The capsule has a compartment for the hand
baggage of passengers. The tablet accommodates two rows of
seats with 14 seats in each row, i.e., 28 passengers. The road
will be able to provide the passenger traffic in the amount of
840 people/hour, which allows achieving values of the
throughput of the drive at 7.4 million people/year.
The movement of the vehicle is carried out using linear
electric motors. The moving motor element (rotor) is located
on the capsule while the tube incorporates the stationary motor
element (stator) which powers the vehicle.
The engine uses an aluminum sheet as a rotor. The stator
windings produce a linearly moving magnetic field acting on
conductors in the field. A driver, in our case, the aluminum
sheet, which is placed in this area has eddy currents induced in
it, thus creating an opposing magnetic field. The two opposing
fields repel each other, generate motion of the capsule. It is
possible to realize acceleration of the capsule and its
slowdown. In case of acceleration, it can reach a high subsonic
velocity and provide a periodic reboot roughly every 110 km.
The minimum distance (in time) between moving adjacent
capsules should be at least 30 seconds.
In the movement of the capsule, it is necessary to ensure a
minimum amount of friction between the moving capsule and
the tube. For this, we use the "air cushion" mode around the
capsule. In the front part of the capsule, there is a compressor,
the inlet of which receives a counterflow of air. The
compressor increases the incoming air pressure by 20 times
and feeds it in certain proportions through a system of outlets
to different parts of the capsule surface. As a result, the tablet
must move in the tube surrounded by air currents and should
not touch the tube walls.
When a solid body moves in the air, an air cushion in front
of the moving body prevents movement. The strength of
resistance to movement increases with increasing speed of the
body. For reducing of air resistance, it is proposed to maintain
a pressure of 100 Pa (1/1000 atmospheric pressure) in the tube.
The vacuum pump system maintains the required reduced
pressure.
The energy consumed by using the air cushion is 21 MW.
Solar batteries located on the outer surface of the tubes
 generate this power. The cells produce 57 MW, i.e., completely
cover the expended of energy.
The capsule provides maximum speed only on a straight
path of the road, any deviations from straightness lead to rate
losses. Therefore, the main line of the Hyperloop is located
mainly along a rectilinear highway running from north to
south. Due to the curvilinear nature of the route in urban areas
of Los Angeles and San Francisco, the capsule reduces the
speed on these sections of the road.
In open areas, pylons fix both tubes on 5 m high, the
distance between them is 30 m.
Work on the project began in 2016; it is planned to finish
the project in 2020. Elon Musk estimates the costs of this
project at $ 6 billion.
In addition to the passenger capsule variant [1], Musk
considered a variant of a cargo-and-passenger capsule, where,
in addition to travelers, cargoes are planned to be transported,
in particular, three Tesla Model X passenger electric vehicles
of Tesla company belonging to Elon Musk. In this case, the
capsule is larger than the passenger capsule. In this connection,
the required tube diameter also increases up to 3.3 m. The costs
of the project are $ 7.5 billion.
To implement the ideas of Musk in the United States, two
companies Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation
Technologies (HTT) began to work. These companies have
actively engaged in solving numerous technical problems
associated with the new technology. They are building
experimental testing grounds and have started realization of
specific projects in the US and other countries.
NTT is responsible for the implementation of the
Hyperloop project in California. It also has preliminary
agreements with some customers in Central Europe and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) for development of Hyperloop
passenger highway projects.
Hyperloop One has clients in the US and the UAE. Also, in
2016, it organized a worldwide competition to select places
where the first Hyperloop projects will begin. Individual
citizens, universities, firms and government organizations from
different countries could submit offers for the contest. The
proposals should outline the need to use a new ultra-high-speed
transport technology to move goods and people in this
particular place. As a result, the company received 2600 offers
from individuals and organizations for five months. A number
of the proposals received had official support from local, state
and federal governments and agencies [2].
Hyperloop One is establishing contacts with Russia. In
particular, it intends to participate in the construction of an
experimental Hyperloop cargo line 65 km long from the
Russian seaport Zarubino, it is now under construction near
Vladivostok, to the Chinese transport and logistics center
located in Hunchun, China [3].
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III. SOME TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPOSED
HYPERLOOP TRANSPORT LINES AND CAPSULES
Here are some technical features of the Hyperloop lines
and tablets that determine the critical technological and
economic indicators of the systems using these facilities.
For the passenger Hyperloop Los Angeles-San Francisco,
the internal diameter of the tube is 2.23 m, its cross-sectional
area is 3.91 square meters. The passenger capsule measures:
1.35 m in width and 1.1 m in height, 25-30 m in length. The
area of the frontal projection of the capsule is 1.4 square
meters. Important aerodynamic coefficients connected to the
Kantrowitz Limit, see [1]: the ratio of the capsule frontal
projection area to the cross-section area of the tube  = 36%,
the ratio of diameters  = 68%.
The total weight of the passenger capsule with all
equipment and all 28 passengers is 15,000 kg. All values are
from [1].
For a variant of the cargo-and-passenger capsule, also
considered in [1], the capsule is larger than the passenger
capsule. In particular, the area of its frontal projection is 4
square meters. In connection with this, the required tube
diameter is increased up to 3.3 m; the cross-sectional area is
8.55 square meters. Aerodynamic coefficients:  = 47%,  =
68%. The total weight of the cargo-and-passenger variant of
the capsule with all equipment, passengers, and the maximum
is 26,000 kg.
In connection with the projects of construction of the cargo
Hyperloop system, transporting freight containers, we will
evaluate the parameters of the Hyperloop transport line and
capsule for the carriage of such goods.
We will consider the case of transportation of a standard
20-foot container (Dry Cube, 20 'DC) [4]. The dimensions of
the container in meters (m): length - 6.058, width - 2.438,
height - 2.591. Weight parameters in kilograms (kg): total
weight (gross) - 24000, tare weight - 2370, useful maximum
load - 21630. First of all, it is interesting to estimate the
diameter of the cargo trunk pipeline for transportation of a
capsule with such container. For this we can use the following
formula, see [1]:
S K / ST   , (1)
where S K - the frontal projection area of the capsule, S T -
the cross-sectional area of the tube,  - the aerodynamic
coefficient.
The container should be free to place in the capsule.
Therefore, the external dimensions of the tablet should be
larger than the container dimensions by the thickness of the
capsule wall plus the value of the free clearance between the
walls of the container and the capsule. Denote this excess as .
Then, assuming that the frontal projection of the capsule is a
 rectangle, its area will be equal to
S K = (container width + )(container height + ). (2)
In our case, choose  = 0.3 m. For the cross-sectional area
of the tube, we have the following formula.
The value of the aerodynamic coefficient  is selected
equal to the value used in Musk’s calculations for the cargo-
and-passenger capsule, see [1],  = 0.47.
ST = 0,786 d 2
in (3) d is the required tube diameter.
Substituting all expressions (2) - (3) and chosen values of
,  into formula (1), we obtain a quadratic equation with one
variable d . Solve this equation and, as a result, we get d=
4.63 m.
We now estimate the weight of the cargo capsule with one
standard 20-foot container. As a basis for the evaluation, let's
take the parameters of a cargo-and-passenger capsule, the
weight of which, without a passenger part, will be estimated at
14000 kg. Bearing in account the weight of the loaded
container (24000 kg), the total weight of the capsule will be
38,000 kg. The valuable cargo in the capsule will be 21630 kg.
Now we can calculate the carrying capacity of the road.
Suppose that the tablets move in the tube with a minimum
allowable interval of 30 seconds, i.e., in one minute, through
the cross-section of the tube, two cargo capsules pass with a
payload of 21630 kg each. Then, the maximum carrying
capacity of one tube of the Hyperloop road will be 1.0512
million TEU of container cargo (TEU is the international
container cargo unit associated with one standard 20-foot
container) or 22.7375 million tons of cargo per year.
Accordingly, for the twin-tube Hyperloop road, these figures
will be 2.1024 million TEU and 45.4750 million tons of cargo.
The carrying capacity of the Hyperloop path can be
increased both by increasing the maximum capability of the
capsules and by increasing the number of tubes of the road.
IV. WHAT PROMISES ARE WE RECEIVE FROM THE HYPERLOOP
TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY?
At the beginning of the paper, Musk’s vacuum train project
was named a new revolutionary technology in transportation.
Consider some characteristics of the proposed technology,
which confirm such name. Let us formulate some important
points that allow us to appreciate this new technology.
The Hyperloop developers of the new system promise:
1. The system can transport people and cargo at a very
high speed.
Currently, the maximum speed of the Hyperloop is 1220
km / h. At this maximum speed, the capsule in the California
project passes the distance at 561 km in 30 minutes. For
comparison, the same distance a passenger aircraft overcomes
in 1 hour 15 minutes, a high-speed train for 2 hours 38
minutes, and a car for 5 hours 30 minutes [1],
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2. The system overcomes the restriction on the speed of
the land transport available in the most advanced modern
transportation systems, such as high-speed magnetic cushion
train (maglev).
According to [5], a similar train in 2015 at the experimental
site in Japan reached a record of a maximum ground
transportation speed of 603 km/h; This speed is half the
declared maximum speed of the Hyperloop train.
3. Organization of a unique underwater transport based on
(3) the laying of the underwater tubes. As a result, the marine
traffic appears, moving with the speed of sound, unheard for
the actual shipping.
4. The sufficiently high carrying capacity of the Hyperloop
system.
The twin-tube Hyperloop road Los Angeles-San Francisco
provides passenger traffic in a volume of 840 people per hour,
which allows reaching the road throughput capacity of 7.4
million inhabitants per year. The maximum carrying capacity
of a freight line for the transport of standard 20-foot containers
will be 2.1024 million TEU or 45.4750 million tons of cargo
per year.
5. The system can guarantee low costs in the design and
implementation of the transport system.
A small weight of transport capsules of several tons
compared to multi-tonnage railroad train allows the use of
significantly simpler bridges and transitions in the construction
of Hyperloop roads. Underwater tubes can be used to pass
water areas. So, as in the open sections, the main tubs lines are
fixed on high pylons, the costs for alienating land for
construction reduce.
The planned costs for the passenger version of the Los
Angeles-San Francisco Hyperloop project is $ 6 billion, while
for the alternative high-speed railway project the US
authorities are ready to spend $ 70 billion. In this case, when
the planned payback period of the Hyperloop project in 20
years a ticket from Los Angeles to San Francisco will cost
$20, and a ticket for travel on the high-speed rail will cost
$ 105, i.e., five times more expensive.
6. Low operating expenses.
For the movement of passenger capsules in the tube using
an air cushion, an energy of 21 MW is consumed. It is
generating by solar batteries located on the outer surface of the
tubes. The cells produce 57 MW, i.e. completely cover the cost
of energy.
7. Independence from weather conditions, no erosion
caused at high speed by small solid counter particles. For the
rapid land transport, this is a big problem. A high-speed train
during the traffic has the noise characteristics of the starting
aircraft. Hyperloop is much quieter.
8. Ecological cleanliness.
The system uses air, electricity generated by solar batteries.
 9. Security.
The system protects against floods and earthquakes, against
birds, animals, different vehicles, pedestrians. On all routes,
one tube does not have counter-movements. There are no
physical intersections with cars and railways, pipelines, high-
voltage lines. Trajectories of motion, acceleration and
deceleration processes are chosen to take into account that
people experience overloads not exceeding 1g.
In the case of building a passenger system, one of the major
difficulties is to ensure the tightness of the passenger capsule.
The fact is that the possible depressurization of the passenger
capsule at the chosen pressure value in the tube leads to an
instant death of passengers. One possible solution may be to
dress passengers in spacesuits. However, this decision can limit
the flow of passengers using this mode of transport. This
problem is practically absent in the case of the freight traffic.
Therefore, some experts believe that, first of all, it is necessary
to build the real cargo systems and to work on all issues related
to the reliability and safety of this technology and then to
introduce passenger systems.
The list of new solutions offered by the Hyperloop
technology listed above justifies the connection of the term
"revolutionary" with the name of the first project for this
technology.
V. SOME NEW PROBLEMS
Elon Musk published his view on the development of the
Hyperloop technology in 2013. In the process of discussing
these initial ideas, as well as the first experiments with
individual elements of the technology, some critical remarks on
different proposals appeared.
First of all, there is a need to increase the estimated cost of
projects. So NTT experts believe that the expense of the Los
Angeles-San Francisco road project needs to be valued at $9
to $13 billion, not $ 6 billion, according to Musk [6]. More
severe critics Musk believe that the road will cost an even
larger amount.
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Initially, NTT expected to build a system using the air
cushion effect when driving the capsule. However, the
practical implementation of this effect has encountered some
technical difficulties, which may force developers to switch to
the use of a much more expensive magnetic cushion.
Some experts have questioned the possibility of ensuring
the energy needs of the roads due to the solar battery system
located on the outside of the tubes. For solar California such
provision can be sufficient, and how to be in areas with
significantly fewer sunny days. Perhaps it needs there another
solution.
The new transport technology poses new management
challenges. It is complicated to control the air cushion of the
capsule when the speed of the tablet changes, for example,
during acceleration or deceleration. In these problems, it is
critical to use computer modeling. Although, since the
complexity of describing current aerodynamic processes, the
numerical modeling can meet in this case with some significant
difficulties.
The dispatching system needs to satisfy increased
requirements for speed and reliability. It should provide
instantaneous triggering and execution of command sequences
in the presence of a vast number of different dispersed objects.
REFERENCES
[1] Hyperloop Alpha (pdf). SpaceX (12 August 2013). The first concept of
the system proposed by Elon Musk on August 12, 2013.
[2] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hyperloop-one-announces-
semifinalists-of-its-global- Challenge-300387186.html
[3] The possible application of Hyperloop technology in the Handgun-
Zarubino. Materials of the Eastern Economic Forum (WEF-2016),
September 2016,
[4] https://www.ontlease,ru/catalog/suhogruznye_morskie_kontejnery/
[5] Maglev, https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/maglev.
[6] https://www.boringcompany.com