Our team from Austin, TX plans to build a half-scale model of our pod with the

intention of participating in Competition Weekend. Proactive measures have

been taken to meet with part manufacturers and acquire the funds necessary

for building the pod.

Texas GuadaLOOP

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2

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”

Antoine de Saint Exupéry

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Team Goal: Using as simple a design as possible, prove the efficacy of the air bearing concept at speeds of up to 175 mph

Slide # Description

4-6 Pod Design & Specifications

7-11 Compressed Air System

12-16 Levitation & Suspension

17-18 Stability

19-20 Braking

21-27 Structure & Materials

28-34 Electronics & Navigation

35-36 Feedback Control

37-41 Dummy, Communications & Power

42-49 Pod Analysis + Tests

50 Press & Funding

51 Team Members

Appendices

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW 3

POD DESIGN: CAD

Full ViewIsometric internal

Bottom Internal left side

4

Pod Design: Exploded View

Valves x6

Pusher Plate

Interface

Air Cylinders x6

Air Bearings x6

NAP

t

t

Suspension x6

Secondary Stabilizer x2

Distribution Tank

Payload +

Electronics

Primary Stabilizer x2

Primary + Secondary

Braking

AirFloat Controller

Skeleton

5

Subsystem Item Weight (lbs) Dimensions (L x W x H) Cost ($) Max Power Consumption

Propulsion SpaceX provided pusher plate N/A N/A N/A N/A

Levitation 6 AirFloat 12” Air Bearing Skids 160 13.25” x 13.25” x 3” $5,304 N/A

6 Port Air Bearing Controller + servos 15 19.5” x 14.5” x 7.75” $1305 36 W

Compressed Air Tanks + components 840 55” (L) x 9.25” (D) $2,550 N/A

Stability Gas Springs, Air Bearings < 30 1.97” x 3.94” x 0.98” $1,420 40 W

Structure & Suspension

Frame, Skin, Stabilizers 1200 168” x 38” x 45” $11,155 N/A

Suspension System 40 20” x 4” x 4.5” each $1500 N/A

Braking Fail-safe Brakes 60 2.17” x 3.15” x 4.27” $4,500 30 W

Caliper Brakes < 50 4.33” x 3.19” x 2.5” $1050 N/A

Electronics, Navigation & Power

Central Computer, Sensor Hubs, Communication, Batteries

< 30 Distributed throughout pod $1,130 50 W

Total 2,425 168” x 38” x 45” $29,914 ~160 W

COST BREAKDOWN 6

Diffu

ser

Byp

ass

nozzle

Air Bearing Air Bearing

Electronics

Intercoole

r

Work tank

@ ~45 kPa

Storage tank at 12 MPa

Air Bearing Air Bearing

DC motor

• Colored Lines Indicate• Electrical• Power• Air Flow

• Originally, all of our calculations for the air bearings were based on our top level compressor design• Primary compressor was to have 〜24:1 compression ratio, with secondary stage giving 〜4.2:1.

We were shooting for a total compression ratio of at least 100:1• On board compressed air storage tank added redundancy for air bearings in case of compressor

failure and levitation for when pod is at rest

Prim

ary

Co

mp

ressor

24:1

2n

dco

mp

4.2

:1

Pressure

Valve

PRELIMINARY COMPRESSOR DESIGN 7

Jet Engine Compressor:•A 24:1 compression ratio exists only in jet engines;

“cold” stage compression reaches at most 14:1•The 5:1 compression stage can lead to mass flow

rate issues due to low absolute pressure•A lighter pod allows us to explore higher velocity

regimes for the air bearings

Cost: > $1 million•Quote from TurboCam International•Putting energy and resources into the compressor

system detracts from our primary goal

COMPRESSOR Conclusions I

GE Honda HF-120 Jet Engine

8

Compressor Motor Controller:•This a typical DC-AC battery

interface for a 250kW, 1700V motor that would run our compressor

•Dimension: 95” x 25” x 35”•Weight: 1000 lbs

Cost: $15,000-$20,000•Due to time and budget constraints

it is unrealistic to implement this motor controller, and thus compressor, for our pod

COMPRESSOR Conclusions II

-Battery-powered motor controller (250kW, 1700V)-Built by one of our power engineers on previous project

9

Air Bearing

Distribution

Tank • Colored Lines Indicate• Electrical• Power• Mechanical

Pressure

Valve

Controller

Air BearingAir Bearing

Air Tank

Air Tank

Air Tank

Air Tank

Air Tank

Air Tank

Air BearingAir BearingAir Bearing

Electronics

Compressed Air Cylinder: Due to the large cost and power requirements of a compressor system, our

team plans to use onboard compressed air cylinders for the purpose of the competition and to

achieve our ultimate goal of demonstrating the air bearing concept

NEW COMPRESSORless DESIGN: AIR CYLINDERS

Stabilizers

10

PRESSURE SUPPLY

Air Tanks:

•Six 300 ft3 Industrial High Pressure Cylinder would provide a supply time of around 4.72 minutes

•This is for maximum lift (18,000 lbs), so actual time may be 7x greater

•Weight: 834 lbs

•Distribution tank to stabilizers and air bearings will be maintained at 300 psi

Cost: $2,550

COTS Air Cylinders

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Air bearings located at the base of the pod will provide lift during flight and are designed to efficiently utilize air coming from the compressed air cylinders.

In contrast to rigid, thrust air bearings, the AirFloat design incorporates a skirt (plenum) that conforms to the surface. This greatly decreases the air requirement and improves load performance.

Selected Model: AirFloat 12” diameter Air Caster shown in bottom right

• Urethane diaphragm

• AirFloat air bearing system can carry loads of up to 1.5 tons per air bearing at optimal conditions

• Minimal pressure head losses escaping from underneath the bearing plenum (less than 5%)

• Partnership with AirFloat, LLC allows us to acquire and test air bearing models at a reduced cost in order to determine efficacy at transonic velocities

Cost: $5300

LEVITATION

Air float 12” skids (top) and bearings

12

Pneumatic control system to connect air tanks to air bearings:

•6x Air Float hosing

•6-port Air Float controller for load and lift height designation

•6x servos to control lift remotely (optional, see electronics)

Cost: $900 + $264 + $144 = $1,308

LEVITATION CONTROL SYSTEM

Air Float 6-port controller Sample Air Float provided hose

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14

Ball Bearing system● Ball bearings on either side of each air

bearing will prevent “crash landing” while in flight, as well as aid in loading/unloading

● Ball bearings are only in contact with the floor when air bearing is deflated

● The manufacturing tolerances should be sufficient to achieve this goal

● Addresses single point of failure

Cost: $120

Inflated (operational) Deflated

enlargement

SECONDARY SUPPORT SYSTEM

Gas springs will provide additional dampening, while leaf springs provide connection to structure and bear the load from the weight of the structure

• Gas springs are effective in a vacuum because they operate off pressure differential

• Gas springs will be custom designed from manufacturer (SUSPA) to be critically damped

• $100 each

Gas Spring Cost: $1200

SUSPENSION I 15

Leaf Springs provide easy and effective means of mounting air bearings

• A flat, straight track will not require robust suspension

• 1,000 lb capacity on each bearing

• $15 each: 2X leaf springs per

• Weighs 8 lbs each

Leaf Spring Cost: $180

SUSPENSION II 16

Gas Springs and Vertical Air Bearings•Primary stability will come from rectangular air bearings•These will correct coriolis effect (3 N) and any lateral

movement•Ideal load: 250 lbs each•Spring constant: 0.63 lbs/uin•A vacuum compatible gas spring will be chosen to

provide critical damping○Air bearings also pressed against rail using the gas

springs•These air bearings are commercially used on conveyor

belts at high velocities: rated at 50 m/s, but in discussion with manufacturer about our application

○Will make our max speed be 50 m/s, or may be a non-issue

•1.97 inch x 3.94 inch•Weight: 0.65 lbs each

Total Cost: $1,220

Air bearings

AXIAL STABILITY SYSTEM Gas springs

Axis of rotation

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Wheel bearings

• Wheel system design is very simple, low cost, and will be fabricated by our UT machine shop

• This is a failsafe measure: if lateral air bearings fail, wheel bearings will prevent major crash

Cost: TBD (Negligible)

AXIAL STABILITY SYSTEM II

Air bearings

• Air bearings will provide primary stability

• Manufacturer: New Way air bearings

• Mass flow rate is minimal, so does not change our supply considerations

Cost: $1,220

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Fail-Safe Brake•2,100 lb clamping force @ 230 VAC w/ 60% adjustability•Would require separate power system (design included later)•Only two necessary for uniform load•Vacuum compatible•Built in safety: if power fails, brake is engaged•28.6 lbs each

Total Cost: $4500

primary Fail-Safe braking 19

RedunDant braking

Caliper Brake•Standard rectangular hydraulically activated

caliper brake from Mico•Will need 4 for uniform load and appropriate

stopping power, with redundancy○mu = 0.335○clamp force = 2650 lbs○max stopping force per = 900 lbs

•Also requires fluid reservoir and cylinder•Will be activated by linear actuator•Potentially not vacuum compatible, but

manufacturer is working to find one that is•Best case scenario: used for redundancy

Comprised of:•4 caliper brakes•cylinder•reservoir

Total Cost: $1,000

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Our frame will be modeled using fuselage components as a baseline. However, the “cabin” will not need to be pressurized as no humans will be placed in the pod.

Skin• Fiberglass epoxy molded around fuselage

Rings• Structural beams perpendicular to stringer• Lack of pressurization negates the need for a

cylindrical shape (no hoop stresses).• Z-shape used for rings as well• 4 spaced evenly throughout body of pod

Z-stringers• Significantly increase bending moment inertia of

fuselage• Lower manufacturing cost• Rolled shape

FUSELAGE DESIGN

Fuselage Isometric View

Ring

Z Stringer

Z Stringer Cross - Section

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Fiberglass Epoxy: Skin•Composite made of fiberglass and epoxy resin•Cheaper and easier to mold than aluminum•Under loading, fibers elongate <3%•High tensile strength

Thermal Profile•Aluminum melting temperature = 1221 °F•Fiberglass epoxy maximum temperature = 284 °F•Maximum temperature pod will reach = 175 °F

POD Thermal Profile

Aluminum 7475-T61: Z-stringers and Rings•Precipitation-hardened•Specified for fracture critical components of

high performance aircraft: Fuselage skins and bulkheads

•Superior fracture toughness•Resistance to fatigue crack propagation •Prevents catastrophic disintegration of skin•Lightweight•High strength

23POD STRUCTURE COST

Z-stringer Dimensions and Spacing• 8 stringers• 1 in legs and .0625 in thickness• Unbraced length of 3.5 ft

Z-stringer and Ring (skeleton) Cost• Material Cost: $2,800• Labor Cost: $700• Total Cost: $3,500

Note• Calculations are made using maximum

allowable pod weight in order to ensure structure is not underbuilt

Skin• Made up of fiberglass epoxy structure• Weighs only 10 oz/yd2

• Thickness is 0.015 in• To increase strength, 8 plies will be stacked

upon each other, for a total thickness of ⅛”• Laminate weighs 1 lb/in2

• This meets AMSC 9084 Standard

Skin Cost• 10 oz Fiberglass: $8.15/yd2 per ply• 100 square yards needed: $815 per ply• 8 plys needed: $6520• Epoxy resin cost: $500• Total Cost: $7,020

24

Example of stringer/rib junction

Connection design

Bolts• 16 bolts per stringer/rib connection• Total of 512 bolts• Bolts are ASTM A325 steel• ½-13x2 1/2L• Verified by FEM

Cost of Bolts• $30.25 for 25 bolts• 21 sets required• Total: $635.25

25structural design considerations

Z-stringers• Stringers were designed to resist global

buckling, local buckling, and reinforced with hoops to prevent flexural failure.

• The primary failure mode is local buckling in a stringer rather than global buckling due to compression

Truss System• Torsional-flexural buckling is not a significant

concern due to truss system in the rear of the pod.

• The truss system will consist of short (6-8 in) HSS members transmitting loads from the pusher plate to the stringers.

Connections• All connections within the pod are pin-pin

connections, as welds are more complicated and costly.

Linear Analysis• Aluminum is less ductile than other metals,

so yielding is not preferred. Therefore, linear analysis has been performed in order to ensure all members remain elastic.

SpaceX Pusher Plate• The SpaceX pusher plate will be placed near

the center of mass vertically in order to prevent large moments from developing in the structural members

• The pusher plate was mainly used to determine the way in which the forces will distribute themselves within the structural system, as well as the magnitude of these forces.

26Dynamic analysis

Natural Frequencies• Our team is currently working on a modal finite element analysis in ABAQUS to determine the

natural frequencies of each member of our pod.• Once we have determined natural frequencies for each member, we will work on computing

natural frequencies for subsystems, and then for the entire assembly.• This analysis will be constantly updated in order to ensure that our results are accurate by providing

more and more detail in our model.Structural Vibration• Upon computing the natural frequencies of the pod, we will focus on the vibration of the structure,

and how to avoid and damp it, if necessary.• A secondary objective will be to determine the fatigue effects in structural members of the pod.• Since there are no wind or seismic loads within the tube, quasi-static analysis is not necessary.• Since weight of the pod needs to be minimized, we will focus on improving the NVH (noise,

vibration, and harshness) performance without adding mass to the pod.

27Computational Fluid Dynamics

• This image shows .5 degree deviation• Skin design leads to a very small

restoring force• Drag calculated using Ansys software is

miniscule: 2.67 N• Working on CAD to eliminate separation

point towards front of the pod• CFD shows that we experience minimal

pressure drag building up in front of the pod, which justifies us not including compressor to overcome Kantrowitz limit

• i.e. by designing a smaller pod, our bypass to pod area ratio is sufficient in these velocity regimes (78 m/s, 175 mph)

• Analysis was run for 39 m/s, 58 m/s, and 78 m/s

• This will continually be updated as we move forward into the build phase

Passenger SystemCritical System

28Electronics I/O dIAGRAM

Navigation System

Sensors (IMU,

ToF, Temp, Camera)

Pneumatic Control

BrakingControl

Battery Power

Network Access Panel

CentralComputer (ROS)

Data Logging Watchdog

computer

Remote Computer

Dummy Monitoring System

Cabin control(e.g. door, humidity,

lights)

Battery Power

SENSOR LAYOUT on POD

Sensor Layout• Current power circuit can handle about

40 sensor stations using batteries

Sensor Stations•Arduino (x21)

•Levitation Height (x6) ( )•IMU (x3) ( )•Air Bearing controller (x6) ( )•Braking (x3) ( )•Lateral Stability (x4) ( )

•Raspberry Pi 2 (x2, Navigation) ( )•Image Processing •1 on either side of pod

•Cameras (x4) ( )•2 connected to each Raspberry Pi 2

29

POD COMPUTER

Central ROS Node

Raspberry PiNode

ArduinoNode

ArduinoNode

IMU and respective sensorsNavigation Cameras

Data LoggingNode

Braking ControlNode

Pneumatic ControlNode

Processed Sensor Data

Watchdog computer

Pod-Stop Command

Feedback TopicCommand/Write Topic

ROS-based central computer• Linux-based central computer,

running Robot Operating System (ROS)

• Different components of the system advertise their data on topics

• Computers access this data by “subscribing” to topics

Watchdog Computer• Separate system which tells

everything to shutdown or reboot in case of emergency.

30

31NAVIGATION

Multi-Camera Detection System • Sensing posted colored stripes on tube

wall• Using optical flow and motion blur

analysis

IMU: On-board Inertial Measurement Units• Accelerometers & gyros to measure

velocity, acceleration, and rotation

How it works:• Using Kalman Filtering to determine

position along tube from all sources (IMU, Camera, Radar) Arduino

-Signal Noise Filtering+ Estimated Distance

+Uncertainty in Distance

Levitation/Braking Sensor Node

TOF Range Finder+ 8-bit distance

Camera+ 8-bit RGB image

Raspberry Pi 2-Optical Flow Analysis-Motion Blur Analysis+ Estimated Velocity

+Uncertainty in Velocity

Camera Sensor Node

IMU+ 8-bit acceleration (3)

+8-bit gyro (3)

Arduino-Signal Noise Filtering

+ Estimated Velocity & Rotation+Uncertainty in Measurements

IMU Sensor Node

Central Computer-Kalman Filtering (Pod pose)

-Monitoring pod systems+Levitation setpoints

+Braking setpoints

Braking Controls Levitation Controls

32Navigation Cameras

Raspberry Pi 2

USB

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

Camera

Camera• HD webcam, 120⁰ field of view, 60 fps

Raspberry Pi2•A Raspberry Pi 2 will process a video feed from two

webcams to determine velocity and position• The video processing will consist of a fusion of both

optical flow and motion blur analysis of viewed stripes to determine velocity

• The video processing will use position correlation from the viewed stripes in tube to the known map of stripes to determine position in tube

Why is this important:• The fusion of both optical flow and motion blur

analysis will allow us to determine velocity at both high and low speeds within the tube

• Position correlation will let us know when the pod is 1000 and 500 feet from the end of the tube

Central ROS Node

Watchdog Computer

Camera

33IMU Sensors

Arduino (Atmega328)

I2C Bus

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

9DOF Sensor

9DOF• The inertial measurement unit (IMU) has 9

degrees of freedom (9DOF)• Each 9DOF contains a gyrometer (ITG-3200),

magnetometer (HMC5883L), and accelerometer (ADXL345) that are accessed at different I2C addresses

Arduino•An Arduino will process each sensor’s data and

and send to the pod computer via a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) connection

• The bus from the Arduino to the 9DOF will be a single device master-slave I2C bus

• Data rate: 50Hz

Why is this important:• The 9DOF sensor be used to measure roll, pitch,

and yaw as well as speed of the pod

Central ROS Node

Watchdog Computer

34LEvitation & BRAKING SENSORS

Time-of-Flight Ranger Finder• The time-of-flight (ToF) range finder is a VL6180

distance sensor that uses a precise clock to measure the time it takes light to bounce back from a surface

•Resolution Range: 0-100mm

Arduino•An Arduino processes each sensor’s data and send it

to the pod computer via a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) connection

•The bus from the Arduino to the ToF will be a single device master-slave I2C.

•Address 0x29, 400KHz serial bus

Why is this important:• The ToF sensors will be placed on the top, bottom,

and sides of the pods to measure levitation height and distance from the tube rail/wall (useful for braking and stabilization)

Arduino (Atmega328)

I2C Bus

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

ToF Sensor

Central ROS Node

Watchdog Computer

35Pneumatic CONTROL

Servo Actuator•Electrically-controlled HS-485HB Servo•Need six, one for each air tank knob•Regulate air pressure flowing from mixing tank

(500 psi) to air bearings (20 psi)

Pneumatic Control System•A TM4C1294 microcontroller interfaces six

servos and passes data to central computer via Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)

•The levitation sensors and pneumatic control together work as a feedback system for the pod’s levitation on track

Testing:•Remote computer will be able to test if

pneumatic control system works by sending commands to the central computer

TM4C1294 microcontroller

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

HS-485HB Servo

PWM

Central ROS Node

Watchdog Computer

36BRAKING CONTROL

Fail-safe Brake•Requires 230VAC input voltage•Power requirement: 30W•Use an inverter to convert from DC to AC to

power the braking system using batteries

Intelligent Braking System (i-Braking):•Given feedback from navigation system, the

central computer will send control signals to determine when and how much to brake

•If there is a power blackout, fail-safe brakes will automatically activate

Testing:•Remote computer will be able to test if braking

system works by sending commands to the central computer

Arduino (Atmega328)

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

DC-AC inverter

Central ROS Node

Batteries

Watchdog Computer

37DUMMY MONITORING SYSTEM

SpaceX-provided Dummy•Attach several sensor patches to the dummy

such as IMUs and temperature sensors

Dummy Monitor Controller•A TM4C1294 microcontroller interfaces with

the sensors using any of the following pins•4 SPI pins•10 I2C pins•8 PWM pins

•The system informs the central computer how the dummy is doing in the pod

TM4C1294 Launchpad

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

Dummy Sensor Patch

SPI, I2C

Central ROS Node

Watchdog Computer

38COMMUNICATIONS

Sensors to Sensor Stations (MCU/MCC)•Sensors are connected to microcontrollers for

on-board sensor data processing

Sensor Stations to Pod Computer; Pod Computer-to-Actuator

•Feedback control data will be communicated via wired network

On-board Computers to Remote Computer• On-board computers will send data to Network

Access Panel (NAP) via gigabit Ethernet switch. The NAP will then send the data to the remote computer via a wireless connection provided by SpaceX.

Sensor Node

MCU Node

Sensor Node

MCU Node

Central Computer

Watchdog Computer

NAP

Remote Computer

*Wireless backbone

provided by SpaceX

39CUsTOM DC-DC POWER ConVeRTER

Current Circuit Specification• Input voltage range: +10V ~ +15V• Output voltages: 5V and 12V• Output power 60W

• 30W for 12V switch• 30W for 5V nodes

• Rated efficiency: 98%

To Be Added• 6-port pneumatic controller (36 W at 6 W

per servo)• 4 electromagnetic stabilizers (40 W at 10

W per magnet)

40CUsTOM DC-AC POWER INVERTER

Current Circuit Specification

• Input voltage range: 250V ~ 300Vdc

• Output voltages: 120/240Vac

• Output power: up to 2 kW

41GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI)

Web Application• Structured with HTML5 and JavaScript• Platform independent

Server•Raspberry PI or other portable server•One other backup server

Data• Use AJAX XML http request object to make

an asynchronous call to retrieve data from MCUs.

• Data is retrieved in JSON format from the central computer

Central Computer

Server

42READY-TO-LAUNCH CHECKLISTPneumatic Control (compressed air tanks): ✓ Check supply pressure: 2400 psi✓ Check pressure regulator value to be at 140kPa (20 psi)✓ Monitor flow rate at about 0.5kg/s

Levitation: ✓ Show 6 points (for each air bearing) vs Ideal

• Pod hovering at 2 mm • If one these points gets smaller (pod getting close to ground),

then GUI show the red number.Navigation: ✓ Show live camera data feed of tunnel (top and sides of pod)✓ Show Location and Distance till next checkpoint✓ Show pod current velocity and acceleration

Communication: ✓ Show Network strength, current bandwidth, current latency✓ Show Data Traffic. View and set warning limits

Sensor data: ✓ Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data, Distance sensor data, Radar

information, Dummy monitoring systemBraking & Stability: ✓ Show whether Braking is on or off; Brake Pad sensor✓ Monitor the electromagnet actuators for stability

Pod-stop Command: ✓ Show whether on or off

Internal Power: ✓ Battery Management System: Voltage, Temp per battery✓ Show Battery life remaining ✓ Show amount of Amperage being drawn. Set limits.

Fail-safe Measures✓ Check for discrepancy between navigation aids

• Camera -vs- IMUs -vs- Radar• Discrepancy in radar return signatures

✓ Redundancy with Pod-Stop Command and Watchdog Computer

43

● 800 ft of acceleration at 1.2 g yields a maximum velocity of 169.5 mph● Drag force at maximum velocity is 2.67 N

● Calculated using ANSYS software● Leads to a decrease in speed of <1 mph

● Braking commences at 850 ft left in tube to stop within 50 ft of end of tube● Deceleration will also occur at 1.2 g● Negligible thermal load

TRAJECTORY

44

● Our pod can be easily moved by using the fail-safe ball bearings attached to our air bearing skids, or by levitating the pod itself with the air bearings

● Off-board compressed air tank will provide levitation when needed during functional tests and loading/unloading

○ Will not deplete the air supply needed for our run● The SpaceX-provided forklift will be used to place our pod in the Staging Area, and the

pod will be moved by hand from the Staging Area to the Hyperloop, and from the Hyperloop to the Exit Area

○ Structures team is doing analysis to ensure that no damage is done from loading with crane/forklift

● We will ensure that all attachments (brakes, stability) to the rail will be variable and easy to align

Loading and unloading

45Functional Test phase

Test A Power-on, two-way communications

Test B Levitation

Test C Communications

Test D Levitation, internal power

Launch

Test E Safe to Remove

46

Test A (power-on, two-way communications) will take place in the Staging Area• We will provide power to our electronics subsystem and air bearings, and run a sensor telemetry check across all

subsystems. • We will ensure that pressure and mass flow gauges are reading correctly and optimally. • We will send signals to and from the SpaceX network access panel via a remote computer to confirm that two-way

communications are working at a suitable level.Test B (levitation) will take place in the Hyperloop, with Gate 1 open

• A secondary off-board air cylinder can be used for this test so as not to deplete air stored for our run.• We will provide power to our electronics subsystem and air bearings then run a sensor telemetry check across all

subsystems. • The pod will be connected to the Mechanical Propulsion Interface and Hyperloop Power Umbilical, as to not waste our on-

board resources during testing. • Switching between primary tanks and the secondary tank is as simple as disconnecting/reconnecting one valve in our air tank

controller. Test C (communications) will take place in the Hyperloop after Gate 1 is closed.

• This short test will consist of sending continuous remote signals to the network access panel at the back of the pod.Test D (levitation, internal power) will take place once the Hyperloop has been depressurized.

• At this point, the power umbilical will be disconnected and the pod will be running solely on internal power. When the primary tanks can provide lift and stability for the pod while running on internal power, launch will commence.

Test E (safe to remove- CONDUCTED AFTER LAUNCH) will take place once the pod is at the far end of the Hyperloop, once the Hyperloop has been pressurized.

• A full temperature analysis will be performed, with particular emphasis on the air tanks and power subsystem. Pressure sensors and mass flow gauges will be read remotely to ensure the pod is safe to approach. Once this has been determined, Gate 2 may be opened.

Functional Test Phase - DETAILS

47

Determine mechanisms to be used for mitigation of complete power loss in pod○ Braking system engages when power is lost (see braking slide)○ Backup batteries for critical systems

Identify Single Points of Failure (SPOFs), discuss ways to avoid SPOFs to maintain robustness○ If network switch stops working, then the entire Power-over-Ethernet network is lost. As a result, we place

the Watchdog Computer and Braking system on different power networks○ In case the network switch does go down, then each individual node will timeout and enter fail-safe mode○ Critical systems are bound by secondary communication network in case of switch failure○ All other systems are designed with redundancies that do not require power or air supply (e.g. secondary

stability or ball bearings on the Air Float skids)

How would we deal with rapid pressurization of the pod? Structural robustness is a must○ Our pod is designed to operate at near vacuum. Because there are no humans inside, the pod will not have a

pressurized cabin. The pressure inside the pod is whatever the tube pressure is. Unless there is a tube breach, this will not be a problem. Our pod is robustly designed with hoops/stringers to survive a change to atmospheric pressure from near vacuum

Develop recovery plan if pod is rendered immobile in tube ○ Off-board compressed air tank can be used for additional levitation in case our on-board air tanks go empty.

The ball bearings on the sides of the air skids can also be used to roll the pod out of the tube if the air bearings fail completely

Pod-stop command can be given manually via our remote computer if we see any alarming data during our run

safety

48

Compressor● Compressor system needed for the full-scale pod design● Cost in excess of $ 1 million - constituting vast majority of budget for full-scale design

Air Bearings● Current (½ scale) load capacity is 18,000 lbs● Adding 2 air bearings (8 total), pod could support 24,000 lbs● More than double the 11,000 lb limit

Structure● Aerodynamic coefficients change● Basic structural design remains unchanged - trivial increase in length and diameter● Different number of hoops/stringers

Braking● Caliper brakes will not be used at higher velocities

○ Most likely magnetic eddy current brakes will be, with caliper brakes taking over at low velocities and for emergencies

Miscellaneous● Computing power largely unchanged● The mechanical design would still be under $100,000, but compressor, motor, and power

requirements push that to over $1 million for a full scale pod

scalability

49PRODUCTION TIMELINE

50

Press• Austin American-Statesman• Texas Alcalde• Daily Texan• Austin Technology Incubator• CleanTX

Funding•Donors•UT Alumni •GoFundMe•$3,000 independently raised•$600 initial pledge by Flying V

Crowdfunding Asia, with further possible funding

•$2,500 pledged by Ted Lehr if we meet ⅔ funding goal.

•Total: $6,100 of $30,000

PRESS & FUNDING

James McGinniss (MS/PhD, ME)

Team Captain, Braking, Levitation

Carter Airhart (Freshman, ECE)

Communication

Natalie Atkinson (Junior, ASE)

Aerodynamics, CAD

Cem Bagdatli (PhD, ME)

Electronics, Pod Control

Josh Bryant (Senior, ECE/Math)

Navigation, Software, Electronics, Pod Control

Josh Cristol (Junior, ECE)

Sensors, Electronics

Hallie Ford (Senior, ASE)

Aerodynamics, Levitation

Nari Jeong (Junior, CS)

Software, GUI

Kevin Kim (Senior, ASE)

Braking

Eric Liang (Junior, ECE)

Electronics, GUI

Roshan Nair (Freshman, ASE)

Structure, Aerodynamics

Deborah Navarro (MS, Business)

Project Management, Biosystem

Ari Garcia Oscos (Senior, Physics/ASE)

Aerodynamics, Levitation

Vik Parthiban (MS/PhD, ECE)

Electronics Lead, Power

Krishna Patel (Freshman, ECE)

Electronics, GUI

Patryk Radyjowski (PhD, ME)

Propulsion, Design

Tyler Regan (Junior, ME/CS)

Compressor system

Robert See (MS/PhD, ASE)

Propulsion, Aerodynamics, Structure

Nishil Shah (Senior, ECE/CS)

Communications

Connor Smith (Senior, ASE)

Aerodynamics, Propulsion

Daniel Tan (MS/PhD, ME)

Aerodynamics, Structure

Arjun Teh (Junior, ECE)

Electronics, Pod Control

Adriana Vann (Junior, BBA)

Aesthetics, Project Management

Turan Vural (Sophomore, ECE)

Sensors, Electronics, GUI

Connor Widder (Sophomore, ECE)

Electronics

Enakshi Wikramanayake (MS/PhD, ME)

Design, Levitation

Ray Xu (Sophomore, ECE/Physics)

Navigation, Electronics

Xin Xu (PhD, ECE)

Electronics

Wayne Yao (PhD, Industrial)

Cost, Braking, Aesthetics

Jackie Young (Senior, ASE)

CAD, Aerodynamics, Levitation

Dr. Christian Claudel

Advisor, Civil Engineering

Team Members 51

52

Thank you for your time!