Chinese engineers overcome obstacles to prevent the idea of super speed vessels moving in the vacuum pipe of the US billionaire becoming a reality.
Test run for a 1,000 km/h super -speed ship in China. Image: I think
For nearly two centuries, the dream of the transportation system in the vacuum pipeline attracts countless scientists and engineers. This is a dream that was blown up from Elon Musk’s proposal in 2013 with the Hyperloop system promising to revolutionize traffic, carrying people between cities at a speed of 1,000 km/h. Despite the victories that Musk reaped in the field of electric cars, satellites and missiles, his Hyperloop dream was still unfinished.
The challenges to realize Hyperloop seem to be unable to overcome: the pressure difference is 200 times compared to the aircraft cabin, the concrete is easy to leak, the magnetic resistance causes deformation and the technique that requires perfect from millimeters for rail and bridges to avoid disasters. Half of the world, Chinese engineers have found a way to overcome challenges and revive the dream of Hyperloop.
In 2024, China introduced the Hyperloop trial run for a buffer ship from 2 km long in Duong Cao district, Son Tay province. This super project was described in detail for the first time last month in an article published in China’s Railway Standard Design magazine. In particular, Xu Shengqiao, engineer at the China Railway Technical Consulting Group (CREC), shares the process of solving Hyperloop’s nightmares through combining concrete – vacuum steel pipes, low -controlled magnetic dampers, exact construction methods to millimeters and rich experience from other high -speed rail projects.
One of the key points of Hyperloop is depending on the expensive metal pipe. China’s liberation is N -shaped composite beams combined with steel covers with vacuum concrete. Inside, a group of engineers created an epoxy reinforced maze and reinforced fiberglass to disable the magnetic resistance, an important initiative that helps to lose energy more than 1/3.
On the outside, they use wavy steel joints to resolve the temperature oscillation, while the laser steel wire network ensures stress at 0.05 mm per kilometers. “Steel bearing tension while concrete processing compressive force. Combined with each other, they form a sealed fortress,” Xu said. Testing shows that pipes maintain vacuum seamlessly defied in the cold winter and hot summer up to 45 degrees Celsius, a achievement that has been thought to be impossible for concrete.
At a speed of 1,000 km/h, the obstructions from the exponential increase. Xu’s group changes the core of the pipe. The superconducting coils are rearranged to optimize magnetic lines, while steel mesh replaces traditional reinforced bars. Laser editing rails modules, front casting with an accuracy of 0.1 mm to eliminate the risk of wobbly. The team also innovates concrete. The concrete is crafted in a vacuum environment. This can be solved with a basalt fiber mixture, silica vapor and vacuum processing. The test results show that their concrete type can withstand vacuum pressure for decades without cracking.
On July 22, 2024, Chinese scientists and engineers make history. In low vacuum pipes, the vehicle accelerates to high speed, floating at a height of 22 cm and running through 2 km rails with almost zero. Emergency wind latch and pressure cabin help resolve safety concerns that haunted Hyperloop for many years.
China’s method is based on modules. Precast pipes are mass -produced, causing the cost of 60%. Vacuum pump reduces energy use while AI algorithms predict maintenance needs. China’s project is not limited to experiments, but the system can expand with the plan to increase the length in the next few years. Xu said it was the result of lessons with high -speed rail in China: using automatic rigs, careful surveys to every millimeter and tight collision testing.
However, researchers still face many obstacles. Commercialization of train lines 1,000 km/h requires billions of dollars. The heat expansion in the pipe is longer and the emergency regulations with passengers have not been checked.