# Case Study of an Integrated Design and Technical Concept for a Scalable Hyperloop System
## 1 Introduction  
High-speed ground transportation has the potential to replace most of the flights within Europe. Being fully electric, the system could significantly reduce the negative environmental impact caused by air travel, contributing to the fight against climate change while allowing for similar travel times between metropolitan areas. In addition to this, a hyperloop offers several other benefits such as fast city-to-city commutes, silent operation, and reliable low-maintenance service with reduced external influences thanks to the controlled environment of the tube and flexible on-demand operation. While there is substantial research on the various technical challenges of the hyperloop system, such as aerodynamics [1, 2], levitation [3], or communication [4], as well as onsystem parameter optimization [5; 6], relatively few studies provide a comprehensive technical overview [7; 8; 9]. This gap highlights the need for detailed studies that design and propose an overall functional technical system. In addition to this scientific literature, the hyperloop industry has also contributed by publishing detailed reports on their technical concepts. The company Hardt Hyperloop (Rotterdam, Netherlands), for instance, proposes a system with electromagnetically levitating vehicles suspended from the top of the tube [10]. This design aims to optimize for a high-speed and high-frequency lane switch but comes with structural disadvantages that are further elaborated on in Section 4.3. On the other hand, EuroTube, a Swiss non-commercial foundation, presents a concept with electrodynamically suspended pods operating at the bottom of the tube [11], which promises to simplify the construction but increases the energy demand. Another valuable resource is the German Transrapid system, which, despite being discontinued and not having a low-pressure tube infrastructure, offers significant insights due to its comparable system complexity and numerous technical similarities with hyperloop, particularly in terms of track-bound transport systems and magnetic levitation. Extensive German literature on Transrapid [12] provides in-depth discussions on the challenges and solutions encountered in developing advanced transportation technologies. Building upon the findings from the Transrapid, the TSB is being developed in Germany for urban traffic, with a maximum speed of 150 \(\frac{\text{km}}{\text{h}}\)[13]. Despite its lower speed, the system serves as a role model for modern Maglev technology, particularly in terms of levitation and the packaging of subsystems. Within the framework of a comprehensive research program at Technical University Munich (TUM), a 24-m demonstrator was inaugurated in 2023, showcasing a functional and certified full-scale hyperloop test stand for low speeds [14]. The work provides insights into the design process and the engineering challenges faced during the development of this full-scale hyperloop test stand. The demonstrator serves as a critical step towards understanding the practical aspects of implementing a hyperloop system and helps in validating theoretical models through real-world prototyping. Overall, while existing literature and industry reports provide important pieces of the puzzle, this study advances the state of the art by presenting a more integrated perspective, addressing the interplay between various functions and the overall feasibility of a full-scale, high-speed hyperloop system. The objectives of this study are as follows:  
* Show technical feasibility:Find a technical solution addressing the most common technical objections to the hyperloop concept. * Demonstrate system cohesion: Illustrate that there is a set of parameters, requirements, and technical solutions that can function together harmoniously. * Document design considerations: Provide a detailed documentation of the design considerations undertaken by the team. * Support standardization process: Propose a technical concept to provide a foundation for standardization.