Engineering Proposal

Introduction

Have you ever been annoyed by the long commute times? What if most of that commute time could be cut? On average it takes about 19 hours to go from New York to Chicago by train, and about 12 hours by car. It also takes about 2.7 hours by plane without counting the entire process of checking in, going through security, handing over luggage, etc. This commute time could be cut to about 2.3 hours with the implementation of the “Millennium Transportation”. Millennium Transportation is the name of our new transportation system. It is a high speed transportation system that will run from downtown Manhattan to downtown Chicago and will also make a stop in the city of Cleveland. This system will allow people to quickly travel from one city to another, without having to go through a long time consuming process of getting aboard.

The implementation of the Millennium Transportation will aid with reduction of air pollution and global warming. We are using maglev technology to reach out our project. Maglev stands for magnetic levitation that is caused by electromagnetics. With the implementation of Millennium Transportation, there would be no need for people to be driving cars and emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for 19 hours when they can get there in 2.3 hours on this maglev train. Figure 1 shows that the maglev releases the least amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when compared to a car, a plane and a regular high speed train. “Maglev train is also highly reliable having no mechanical contact points with a track to wear out, or any electrical cables to pick up, unlike the traditional Inter City train which could lead to even more pollution [1]”. Since the train would not touch the rails, the rails will not get damaged. Therefore, less maintenance would be required, which would waste less energy and resources.

Figure 1: Comparison of CO2 emission in grams per seat-kilometer.

Maglev trains are also more energy efficient making them a cheaper mode of transportation. “Maglev operating costs will be only 3 cents per passenger mile and 7 cents per ton mile, compared to 15 cents per passenger mile for airplanes and 30 cents per ton mile for intercity trucks [3]”. Figure 3 shows that transrapid transportation becomes more efficient as it achieves higher speeds.

Figure 2: Comparison of energy consumption between a transrapid train and a high-speed train.

Millennium Transportation would also reduce noise pollution because there would be friction happening between the wheels of the train and the rails.. Figure 2 shows that the Transrapid train is able to go at a faster speed while producing around the same amount of decibels as the TGV and ICE trains. To compare this to the MTA, “On subway platforms, the mean maximum noise level was 94 decibels. . . and 12 percent of all platforms in the system exceeded 100 decibels [2]”.

Figure 3: Comparison between speed and noise of different trains.

Although collisions are much more dangerous at higher speeds, the Millennium Transportation is considered to be much safer. This is because it is almost impossible to derail a maglev train, and since there would be no driver, the human error would be removed. The train would be more weather resistant because it does not touch the train tracks, so the snow and the ice would not affect the train’s performance [4].

Discussion of Comparable Innovations

Some of the comparable innovations are hyperloops. There are many different hyperloop companies out there but all of them have a similar concept. Hyperloop is a series of tubes that will allow passengers to travel in pressurized capsules. These capsules work on the same mechanism as the maglev trains do, electromagnetism. The biggest difference between maglev trains and hyperloops is that hyperloops use tubes which contain very low air pressure to reduce air friction. “Hyperloop replicates high altitudes in a low pressure environment inside the tube system by removing most of the air with vacuum pumps, which drastically reduces the drag forces [5]”. The reason why hyperloops would not work as of today, is because it is really hard and expensive to keep the tubes under low pressure. Hyperloop capsules can only carry a small amount of people [6]. Another problem is that in order to reach pressure of near perfect vacuum, the tubes would have to be extremely strong in order to withstand such high pressure pushing down on them. “That is, for every square meter of tube, there will be over 10,000 kg crushing down on it [7]”. If a hole appears in the tube, the imbalances in air pressure would cause air to enter the tube with “force equivalent to an elephant traveling nearly 2000 km an hour for every square meter [7]. This would create a violent implosion of the tubes and the total force of the air coming in over the entire cross sectional area(3 square meters) is said to be 30,000 kilograms. “The air would continue to race down the track with explosive force until the pressure equalizes or until it slams into an object – most likely, into the train capsules [7]”. Because of such destructive chain reaction that can occur, engineers say it to be an easy target for a terrorist attack. Another reason is that the theoretical speed of 760 mph have not been achieved yet. The proposed fastest hyperloop so far tested has reached 290 mph [8], while the highest recorded maglev speed is 375 mph.

Technical Description

Millennium Transportation is a maglev train that uses an electromagnetic suspension and contains an electric compressor fan from hyperloop alpha which is talked about in Elon Musk’s 57 page white paper. This train runs from downtown New York (around 34th street), to downtown Cleveland and downtown Chicago because “by connecting city downtowns, they avoid the need to commute from the airport and the inconveniences of traffic congestion [12]”. People would be able to get from one city to another without having to go to the airport or get stuck in traffic.

The support structure of the tracks will take on a “Y” shape as shown in figure 4. We are using deep foundations like piling deep in the ground and Y shape is the most suitable to transfer load to ground and it also saves a lot of space as we don’t need to provide two columns like a two way slab to support our structure.The advantage of Y shape structure is it is going to minimize the expenses in terms of buying land because it’s going to be above ground structure. Y shape structure is cost efficient in case of using materials. We are going to use reinforced concrete to make our structure, which is cheap and easily available material and it also doubles the strength when we combine reinforcement and concrete.

Figure 4: Support structure with 2 rails.

There will also be an emergency rail connecting the two rails together after a certain distance. If a train experiences problems midway, it can go on to the emergency rail and wait until help arrives. This will prevent blockage of the entire train track and will help with avoiding train collisions during a malfunction or signal loss. The emergency rail can be seen in figure 5.

Figure 5: Emergency rail connecting to both rails.

The electromagnetic suspension (EMS) is what causes the train to levitate and propulse forward. EMS contains two electromagnets, both are located on the train’s arm. The lateral guidance electromagnets prevent the train from moving side to side and hitting the guideway or flying off of the guideway. Lateral guidance electromagnets also interact with the reaction rail in order to keep the train fixed in the horizontal position. Figure 6 shows that the levitation electromagnets are positioned at the bottom of the train’s arm. The stators are installed underneath the guideway and they attract the levitation electromagnets causing the train to become suspended in the air [9]. An alternating current is passed through the levitation electromagnets in order to change the attractive poles and repelling poles. The alternation between the two poles of the magnets causes the train to be propulsed forward. Figure 7 shows that the train is being propelled forward by the attraction and the repulsion of the magnets.

Figure 6: Diagram of an electromagnetic suspension.

Figure 7: Propulsion of a maglev train.

Figure 8 shows the electric compressor fan that is going to be located on the nose of the train. The purpose of this fan is to actively transfer high pressure air from the front of the train to the sides of sides of the train. The electric compressor fan will reduce air friction[10] and the high pressured air will be released the opposite direction that the train is going. This will allow the train to reach higher speed.

Figure 8: Electric Compressor Fan

A similar train will be created with the purpose of transporting industrial goods (freight train). This will help the businesses be more efficient and will encourage investment into the Millennium Transportation.

Proposed Program

First, the positions of the tracks will be marked. Then, the prestressed slabs will be manufactured for the structural support of the guideway. The construction of the Guideway will start in all three cities as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9: Route of the guideway.

The reaction rail and the stators will begin to be manufactured and placed onto the guideways. Then, the train will be manufactured with an empty interior. This will be the test train to test the guideway and the speed.

Materials Required

  • Prestressed concrete
  • Ferrite magnets
  • Electromagnets
  • Long Stators = 0.42 million/s.g.m
  • Motor Switches = $0.48 million/s.g.m
  • Feeder Lines = $0.97 million/s.g.m

CAPITAL COSTS [11]

  • Mainline Guideway Costs
  • Right-of-Way (A.O.W.) and Other Land Costs
  • Total Civil Reconstruction and Relocation Costs
  • Systemwide Electrical and Telecommunications Costs
  • Station Costs
  • Other Building and Equipment Costs
  • Vehicle Costs
  • Program Management Costs

ANNUAL OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS [11]

  • Maintenance Costs
  • Energy Costs
  • On-Board Operating Costs
  • Other Fixed Facility Operating Costs
  • General Sales and Administrative Costs

These are some of the costs that we will have to account for. The approximated cost of the entire track is around $43.4 billion. The approximated annual cost for energy is about $4 million plus $3.10 for every mile. Figure 9 shows the labor costs to be about $45.7 million in 1992 which is about $81.8 million in 2019. The Shanghai maglev train was built in about 3 years, so the Millennium train is expected to be built in 17-20 years.

Figure 9: Labor- Power/Cost

Glossary

ICE – known as Intercity-Express which is a system of high speed trains that run through Germany, Belgium, France, and many other surrounding countries.

Maglev – stands for magnetic levitation that is usually caused by electromagnetism.

Reaction Rail – rail made out of ferrite magnets that is attached to the main guideway.

S.G.M = Single Guideway Mile

Stator – Portion of an electric motor

TGV – stands for Train à Grande Vitesse which means a high speed train in French. It is France’s intercity high speed rail service.

Citations

Figure 1:

Maglev. (2019). Social and Environmental benefits. [online] Available at: https://maglevinnovation.weebly.com/social-and-environmental-benefits.html/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Figure 3:

J. Kluehspies, “349906 PROSPECTS AND LIMITATIONS OF HIGH SPEED TRANSPORT : THE MAGLEV CASE(MAGLEV,Technical Session),” The Proceedings of International Symposium on Seed-up and Service Technology for Railway and Maglev Systems : STECH, vol. 2009, 2009.

Figure 2:

Ilonidis, S. (2019). Maglev Energy Budget. [online] Large.stanford.edu. Available at: http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/ilonidis2/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Figure 6:

Denner, T. and Cabral, F. (2015). DYNAMICS AND CONTROL DESIGN VIA LQR AND SDRE METHODS FOR A MAGLEV SYSTEM. [online] researchgate.net. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281861536_DYNAMICS_AND_CONTROL_DESIGN_VIA_LQR_AND_SDRE_METHODS_FOR_A_MAGLEV_SYSTEM/figures?lo=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Figure 7:

“Further physics – MagLev”, Hk-phy.org, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.hk-phy.org/articles/maglev/maglev_e.html. [Accessed: 07- Apr- 2019].

Figure 8:

Tukaram Shinde, R. (2017). Hyperloop Transportation System. [online] Irjet.net. Available at: https://www.irjet.net/archives/V4/i4/IRJET-V4I4152.pdf [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[1]. Maglev. (2019). Social and Environmental benefits. [online] Available at: https://maglevinnovation.weebly.com/social-and-environmental-benefits.html/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[2]. Bakalar, N. (2019). Hazards: New York Subway Clatter Exceeds Safe Levels. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/health/17nois.html [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[3]. J. Powell and G. Danby, “Maglev: The New Mode of Transport for the 21st Century,” 21st Century Science and Technology Magazine 16, No. 2, (2003).

[4]. Luu, T., & Nguyen, D. (2005). Maglev: The Train of the Future. University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. Retrieved from http://www.teslasociety.com/ttrain.doc

[5]. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies | HTT. (2019). Hyperloop Transportation Technologies | HyperloopTT. [online] Available at: https://www.hyperloop.global/how-it-works [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[6]. Zev (2013). MagLev Vs Hyperloop. [online] Evworld.com. Available at: http://evworld.com/blogs.cfm?blogid=1170 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[7]. Engineering, I., Barnett, T., McFadden, C., Loeffler, J. and Barnett, T. (2019). The Biggest Challenges That Stand in the Way of Hyperloop. [online] Interestingengineering.com. Available at: https://interestingengineering.com/biggest-challenges-stand-in-the-way-of-hyperloop [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[8]. Brown, M. (2018). 2019 Tech Predictions: Hyperloop Will Set a 300MPH-Plus Top Speed Record. [online] Inverse. Available at: https://www.inverse.com/article/51883-2019-tech-predictions-hyperloop-will-set-a-300mph-plus-top-speed-record [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[9]. “Physics of Maglve Train – Physics of Maglev Train”, Ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/212_spring2011.web.dir/Chan_Jeon/physics-of-maglve-train.html. [Accessed: 07- Apr- 2019].

[10]. Musk, E. (2013). Hyperloop Alpha. [online] Spacex.com. Available at: https://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/hyperloop_alpha.pdf [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[11] J.A. Harrison, J.C. Shirey, J.B. Glimore (1992). Maglev Cost Estimation. Annual Operating & Maintenance Cost Elements.[Pdf]. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

[12] Bel, G. and Albalate, D. (2012). High-Speed Rail: Lessons for Policy Makers from Experiences Abroad. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/requests/r56784345 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].