[Text/Observer Network Liu Chenghui] The "Hyperloop" dream that stumped Musk has been persistently researched by the Chinese, who have continuously made breakthroughs.
"Musk's Hyperloop might cause extreme discomfort during the journey, but Chinese scientists have found a solution." Hong Kong English media South China Morning Post reported on May 28 that a new study by Chinese scientists has noticed that they are likely to overcome a key defect in the "Hyperloop" dream - the intense oscillation caused by uneven or deformed pipelines, significantly improving passengers' riding experience.
This achievement provides feasibility support for vacuum tube maglev technology, but further research is still needed to expand its application and adapt to extreme working conditions.
The study published on May 16 in China's Journal of Railway Science and Engineering shows that even in near-vacuum pipelines, minor defects such as coil irregularities or bridge deformation can make the journey a nightmare. However, Chinese engineers say they have found a way to reduce turbulence intensity by nearly half, reducing "extremely violent jolts" to a "noticeable but not uncomfortable" level.
In the study led by Zhao Ming, director of the Technology Center of the Electromagnetic Propulsion and Maglev Technology General Department at the Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, a research team used supercomputer simulations and scaled prototype tests.
The research team pointed out that due to the lack of physical contact between the train and the track, electromagnetic forces in the system will act unpredictably on the carriages, eventually leading to resonance that will make passengers "feel extremely unstable."
The experiment found that when maglev trains cruise at 1000 kilometers per hour, track defects and electromagnetic resonance are enough to cause intense low-frequency vibrations in the carriage.
After evaluating with the International Ride Comfort Index - the Sperling Index established in the 1940s - it was discovered that oscillations would be amplified at certain specific speeds. For example, at 400 kilometers per hour, the vibration reaches the peak of "extreme discomfort." When the speed reaches 600 kilometers per hour, another peak appears, with researchers recording a Sperling Index of 4.2, meaning long-term exposure to such vibrations could be "harmful to the human body."
When the speed reaches 1000 kilometers per hour, the vibration decreases to a Sperling Index of 3.1, which is at the "barely tolerable" level.
"Our research considered single frequency excitation caused by track irregularities, vertical bending of bridges, and lateral irregularities of ground coils," the research team wrote. "At an equivalent speed of 1000 kilometers per hour, the maximum amplitudes of the vehicle body appeared at frequencies of 2.6 Hz, 5.2 Hz, 7.8 Hz, and 10.4 Hz."
To solve this problem, the development team created a hybrid suspension system combining passive airbags with electromagnetic actuators controlled by artificial intelligence.
The paper points out that these electric actuators adopt two advanced control strategies: one is "skyhook" control, which simulates virtual dampers connecting the carriages to the "static sky" through real-time speed feedback to cancel out low-frequency impacts; the other strategy is PID-AI control - regulating suspension forces through proportional, integral, and differential algorithms and optimizing them using the NSGA-II genetic AI method to cope with changes in track conditions.
During testing on a 1:10 scale model using a six-axis motion simulator, the system reduced vertical vibration intensity (measured by root mean square acceleration) by 45.6% under actual track conditions. The Sperling Index at all speeds was below 2.5, reaching the "noticeable but not uncomfortable" level.
Researchers noted that there are still some challenges in the future, such as expanding the suspension technology to full-size trains and ensuring its normal operation under extreme conditions like emergency braking.
For two centuries, building a super railway in vacuum pipes capable of traveling at over a thousand kilometers per hour has always been a dream for scientists and engineers.
Twelve years ago, Musk's proposed "Hyperloop" once reignited people's hopes.
However, after achieving great success in electric vehicles, satellite constellations, and rockets, Musk ultimately failed in the "Hyperloop" project. The problems he faced were almost insurmountable: pressure differences 200 times greater than those in aircraft cabins, high-speed cabin vibrations, leak-prone concrete structures, runaway magnetic resistance, and the high requirement for millimeter-level precision of the tracks.
South China Morning Post once described the failure of the "Hyperloop" as a symbol of Western technological arrogance.
Compared to this, China is fully advancing this dream, the significance of which goes beyond the engineering challenge itself.
In September 2021, the full-scale test line project for the ultra-high-speed low-vacuum pipeline maglev transportation system, co-built by Shanxi Province and the Aerospace Science and Industry Group, was approved for initiation. This is China's first full-scale test line for high-speed maglev. The test line utilizes superconducting maglev technology, low-vacuum pipeline technology, and superconducting synchronous linear motor technology to achieve a maximum speed of 1000 kilometers per hour, approaching "near-ground flight."
The first phase of the test line is 2 kilometers long. In January 2023, the first ultra-navigation trial run was successfully conducted at the high-speed maglev test base in Yanggao County, Datong City, Shanxi Province.
In a test in July 2024, Chinese scientists and engineers made history - inside a low-vacuum pipeline, a high-speed maglev vehicle perfectly floated at a height of 22 centimeters, achieving a test at a 1000 kilometers per hour level with near-zero track deviation on a 2-kilometer-long track.
In August 2024, the first phase of the test line successfully completed the system integration demonstration verification test under low-vacuum conditions in Yanggao County and passed the on-site testing and inspection by the Shanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology. This marked that the project met the conditions for acceptance.
According to South China Morning Post, Musk's "Hyperloop" failed due to its complexity, while the Chinese have effectively utilized the modular concept, such as precast sections that can be mass-produced, cutting costs by 60%; distributed vacuum pumps reduce energy consumption, and artificial intelligence algorithms can predict maintenance needs.
Despite this, there are still some challenges ahead for the Chinese project. For instance, constructing a commercial Beijing-Shanghai line would require an exorbitant cost of tens of billions of yuan; thermal expansion issues in longer pipelines and passenger emergency plans have yet to be tested.
Even so, the message conveyed by the Chinese side is clear - China is writing a different ending for Musk's abandoned dream, and this time, it is very likely to succeed.
This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reproduced without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7509468720784278025/
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February 17, 2017, Canada, Musk speaks at the Hyperloop Pod Competition. Visual China
November 25, 2022, Beijing Exhibition Hall, "The Achievements Exhibition of the New Era." Low-vacuum pipeline maglev high-speed maglev model. Visual China
In September 2021, the full-scale test line project for the ultra-high-speed low-vacuum pipeline maglev transportation system, co-built by Shanxi Province and the Aerospace Science and Industry Group, was approved for initiation. This is China's first full-scale test line for high-speed maglev. The test line utilizes superconducting maglev technology, low-vacuum pipeline technology, and superconducting synchronous linear motor technology to achieve a maximum speed of 1000 kilometers per hour, approaching "near-ground flight."
The first phase of the test line is 2 kilometers long. In January 2023, the first ultra-navigation trial run was successfully conducted at the high-speed maglev test base in Yanggao County, Datong City, Shanxi Province.
In a test in July 2024, Chinese scientists and engineers made history - inside a low-vacuum pipeline, a high-speed maglev vehicle perfectly floated at a height of 22 centimeters, achieving a test at a 1000 kilometers per hour level with near-zero track deviation on a 2-kilometer-long track.
In August 2024, the first phase of the test line successfully completed the system integration demonstration verification test under low-vacuum conditions in Yanggao County and passed the on-site testing and inspection by the Shanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology. This marked that the project met the conditions for acceptance.