Drag-based aerodynamic braking system for the Hyperloop: a numerical study

Abstract

The Hyperloop promises to revolutionize the transport infrastructure of the 21st century by reducing travel time and allowing people to reach transonic speed on land. It carries with it the hope of a sustainable transportation system during an era of global energy crisis. Overall passenger safety in a high-speed pod necessitates a reliable braking system. This paper introduces the possibility of utilizing aerodynamic drag in the Hyperloop, anticipated to operate at high Mach and low Reynolds flow regime, to attenuate the speed of the pod. Numerical analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of incorporating an aerodynamic brake at different pod velocities (100, 135, and 150 m/s) and deployment angles (30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°). A detailed comparison between the proposed aerodynamic braking system (AeBS) and existing braking systems for the Hyperloop has been presented in this paper. The results demonstrate an increase in drag value of the pod by 3.4 times using a single 0.15 m2brake plate. When the brake plate was fully deployed at a pod velocity in excess of 112 m/s, the aerodynamic drag-based braking systems was shown to be more effective than the contemporary eddy current braking system.