Effects of acceleration, deceleration, and cornering on occupants inside a hyperloop capsule/pod at supersonic velocities

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Authors
Vijayan, Sandeep
Advisors
Lankarani, Hamid M.
Issue Date
2017-12
Type
Thesis
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Abstract

Living in an era when commuting at supersonic velocities is all set to transform into reality, the safety of an occupant is of paramount significance to the transportation provider or the manufacturer. The Hyperloop, a fifth mode of transportation proposed by Mr. Elon Musk is progressing towards complete realization. An occupant traveling in a Pod/Capsule inside a partial vacuum tube at supersonic speeds might have to deal with extreme G-forces, at times greater than that experienced by pilots of jet aircrafts. Computer simulations have facilitated the analysis of forces acting on a dummy/Human body model in various scenarios. This thesis presents an investigation into the consequential effect of various parameters on the G-forces acting on the occupant and determining proper restraint systems and seating configurations. A Hybrid-III and a EuroSID-2re 50th percentile male dummies are made use of in the occupant modeling code MADYMO under various test conditions. Computer simulations are carried out to determine the kinematics, injury pass/fail criteria, belt forces during acceleration, deceleration and while the capsule travels along a curved path, of a radius of curvature one mile. For each input test condition, three seat configurations are considered, and each seat configuration is computationally tested with three restraint system configurations and one without any kind of restraint system. At the end of the study, an optimal seat and restraint system configuration are identified after careful examination of results.

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Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
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Wichita State University
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