Each week, the students of the TU Delft Hyperloop project are moving one step closer to the realisation of their dream. After months of preparation, the actual testing period of the Atlas 02 is approaching fast. Last week, rail infrastructure partner Strukton Rail started with the construction of the test trajectory right here at our company premises Crailoo.
On the wooden sleepers of one of our shunting tracks, so-called I-beams are placed. These I-beams form the aluminium profile on which the Atlas 02 pod will propel itself through the hyperloop. The plan is to have the I-beams cover the full length of the testing trajectory, which is 420 metres. Next, the beams will be carefully aligned and attached to the wooden sleepers.
Although much attention will be paid to aligning the beams in a very precise manner, some small irregularities here and there are also required.
“Because the competition track will not be perfectly even either, we want to use the test period to find out how the pod responds to small irregularities in the surface”, explains Asja Follmi from the Hyperloop team.
This approach again shows that the ambitions of this team are high. Only victory counts, and nothing is left to chance. The test period starts in May and during this time various tests will be executed at different speeds and in varying circumstances.
Read more about the TU Delft Hyperloop team and their participation in the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition in California this summer. The team is supported by the rail infrastructure partners ProRail, Strukton Rail and voestalpine Railpro.