HELIOS III (2024)
This year, Delft Hyperloop plans to be the first hyperloop team in the world to build a system capable of achieving a scalable lane switch. They also aim to create their own motor drive and a water cooling system for the first time. With these three innovations, Delft Hyperloop is designing a pod that is much better suited for large-scale production, thus marking a significant step towards the implementation of a hyperloop network.
The previous teams of Delft Hyperloop laid the foundation that allows the eighth team to realize a lane switch. They did this by developing a prototype that could fully levitate, with the track directly above the vehicle. A lane switch sounds simple but is very complicated for a hyperloop system. To execute an effective lane switch, many different factors need to be considered, such as the balance of forces acting on the vehicle. It's important to carefully plan how powerful the magnets on the left or right side of the vehicle need to be to steer it correctly, as well as with the centrifugal force, which depends on how fast the vehicle goes through the switch. In other words, a very complicated system for the student team that wants to realize and demonstrate this within a year.
To make a lane switch possible, the pod must be able to go through the switch at sufficient speed. For this, they use their efficient motor designed by last year's team. To make this motor even more efficient and to ensure that it gets exactly the required amount of power at a specific moment, the team has also designed their own motor controls (motor drives) this year. Previously, these were provided by their partners, but with these custom motor controls, the student team can further optimize their prototype.
All these electrical components ensure that the prototype can move and levitate on the track but also produce a lot of heat. To ensure that this generated heat - in a vacuum - stays away from all critical components, the team has devised an evaporating water cooling system that utilizes the lower boiling point of water in a vacuum. The generated heat is stored in the water and is then released in the hyperloop tube, similar to how humans sweat. This solution seems simple, but is crucial for protecting their most complex systems.
With this design, they will participate in the European Hyperloop Week in Zurich, Switzerland in July, where, like previous years, they hope to win the Complete Pod Design Award and both Full-Scale Awards. From mid-April, tests will take place on a 40-meter-long track next to the TU Delft D:Dreamhall. The test track splits halfway through, allowing the Hyperloop pod to either continue straight or take a turn without touching the track.