• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.2064-2071
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• 2011

We are developing an innovative super-speed land transportation system running in a partial vacuum in tunnels with small inside diameter to reduce the aerodynamic drag forces. This paper presents the experimental results obtained on a small scale model when a super-speed train model passing through a tunnel with small inside diameter and a partial vacuum to reduce the aerodynamic drag forces. The experiments were performed on a 1/52-scale moving model rig in which a train model with a diameter of 58 mm and a length of 603 mm was accelerated in a launching tube with 12.27 m length by means of the compressed air launcher and then passed through a tunnel model with 17.149 m length. The partial vacuum was maintained in the tunnel in order to reduce the energy consumption of the propulsion system of the super-speed tube train at super-speed of 700 km/h. In this study, the blockage ratio of train to tunnel model is 0.336. Experimental results show the nonlinear effects of the vacuum on the speed-up of the train model in the tunnel model under the partial vacuum up to 0.21 atm and at the velocity up to 684 km/h. This paper is first study for experiments on the speed-up of a super-speed train model in the partial vacuum tunnels.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.170-174
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• 2009

Super speed tube train is introduced to increase the speed of ground transportation. The super speed tube train levitates magnetically and runs in a partial vacuum tube, which can reduce the air resistance significantly. However, the strong magnetic force enough to propel the massive train can affect to the tube infrastructure. In this paper, authors have analyzed the leakage flux patterns and induced eddy current on the tube by using 3-dimensional Finite Element Method. These effects are investigated, especially by varying the materials and diameters of the tube. From the simulation results, the aluminum tube with the diameter of 3[m] is needed to be concerned because the induced eddy current produces joule heat, raises the inside temperature of the tube, and might be able to lead to electro-chemical corrosion on the tube, consequently reduce the durability.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.516-520
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• 2010

Parametric study has been conducted to calculate the capacity of vacuum pump system that will be used to maintain the pressure of the tube structure under atmosphere level. Recently many railroad researchers pay attention to the tube train system as one of the super high speed transportation system. To achieve the super high speed, the inside of tube system should be maintained at low pressure level. In the low pressure environment, it is well known that air resistance of train is drastically decreased. Vacuum pump system will be used to make low pressure state for tube structure, exhaust the leakage air and supplement additional vacuum pumping. As results of these studies, we get the lump capacity of vacuum pump for various parameters. These results can be applied to analyze the effects of the reduction of air resistance.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.377-385
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• 2018

Super-speed vacuum tube system, where the air resistance is minimized to obtain high speed of the vehicle, is considered to be a viable alternative transportation system. Air-tightness is one of the most important design requirements of the system, because the internal pressure of the system needs to be maintained significantly lower than the atmospheric pressure. This study performed an experimental test, where a series of concrete tube specimens were applied by external loads to induce cracks and the effective air-permeability of the cracked tube structures were measured. The test results indicates that the information on the length and the width of the load-induced cracks are not enough to anticipate the system air-tightness, whereas the load-induced displacement has higher correlation with the systems air-tightness. Based on these results, a direction of future research for effect of the load-induced cracks on the system air-tightness is suggested.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.364-368
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• 2011

The super-speed tube train was introduced to increase the speed of ground transportation. It levitates magnetically and runs in a partial vacuum tube, which significantly reduces air resistance. However, strong magnetic force sufficient to propel the massive train can affect the infrastructure. The induced eddy current produces joule heat, and raises the inside temperature of the girder, which might lead to electrochemical corrosion on the girder, thereby weakening its durability. In this paper, the authors analyzed the magnetic flux and induced eddy current in the reinforced concrete girder by using three-dimensional FEM, particularly by varying the number of reinforcing steels of the upper flange of the girder to the condition of almost the same flexural strength and reinforcing steel amount.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2011

This paper presents a preliminary study for air-tightness evaluation of vacuum tube structures for super-speed tube railway systems. The formula for flow rate of the air caused by the pressure difference of the inside and outside of the tube structure is derived based on Darcy's law. A test is then performed to measure the air-permeability of concrete with various compressive strengths, the result of which is used for analytical simulation of the air intrusion for a tube structure with a preliminarily defined section. It has been shown that concrete with the compressive strength of at least more than 50MPa is recommended for effective operation and maintenance of the vacuum pump systems, as the air-permeability of concrete is inversely proportional to the exponent of its compressive strength.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.1157-1161
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• 2011

Parametric study has been conducted to calculate the capacity of vacuum pump system that will be used to maintain the pressure of the tube system under atmosphere level. Recently many railroad researchers pay attention to the tube train system as one of the super high speed transportation system. To achieve the ultra super high speed, the inside of tube system should be maintained the low pressure level. In the low pressure environment, it is well known that air resistance of train is drastically decreased. Vacuum pump system will be used to make the low pressure level of tube system, exhaust the leakage air and supplement additional vacuum pumping. Qualitative and quantitative study has been conducted to review the effects of major parameters concerned with the capacity of vacuum pump system. As a results of these studies, we get the lump capacity of vacuum pump for various parameters. These results can be used to analyse the effects of the reduction of air resistance.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.151-159
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• 2011

This study performed an experimental study for air-tightness performance evaluation of concrete tube structures with joints. The test specimens consist of a continuous concrete tube, a concrete tube with a joint in the middle, and a segmented concrete tube. The test is performed in such a way that the inner pressure of the tube is dropped down to 0.1atm and the increase of the pressure is monitored with time. An equivalent air permeability is then calculated based on the test results. The results show that, as expected, a structure with more joints or bonds tends to be less air-tight. A sensitivity study shows that the system air-tightness performance level becomes higher as either the diameter or the thickness of the tube increases. Moreover, the increase in the diameter or the thickness of the tube makes an effort to enhance the air-tightness more effective.