Quote from: Long EZ on 05/16/2017 04:01 amQuote from: Johnnyhinbos on 05/12/2017 09:52 pmWell, one huge unspoken issue with tunnels is the need for proper ventilation. Granted electric vehicles / sleds presents far fewer issues then combustion engines, but it's still a huge deal.I am wondering if the motion of the vehicles in the tunnel could be used to push the air enough to ventilate the tunnel. Say at least one 'car' per minute. Also the ends of the segments would need proper design to expel air that the cars push into the station and inhale fresh air into the departing segment.Another thought is that making the cars be encased in an aero-shell could reduce drag by 5 times or so. Of course more drag would increase the air moved.Don't bother going underground if this is the rate. Think two orders of magnitude higher (>100 cars/min per tunnel).At 125km/hr, one car/min would have them spaced 2km apart. At one car/sec, they'd be spaced 35m apart, so you could probably double that density (120cars/min).At these rates, the tunnel air would be moving approximately the same speed as the cars, so just exhaust a portion and draw in make-up air.
Quote from: Johnnyhinbos on 05/12/2017 09:52 pmWell, one huge unspoken issue with tunnels is the need for proper ventilation. Granted electric vehicles / sleds presents far fewer issues then combustion engines, but it's still a huge deal.I am wondering if the motion of the vehicles in the tunnel could be used to push the air enough to ventilate the tunnel. Say at least one 'car' per minute. Also the ends of the segments would need proper design to expel air that the cars push into the station and inhale fresh air into the departing segment.Another thought is that making the cars be encased in an aero-shell could reduce drag by 5 times or so. Of course more drag would increase the air moved.
Well, one huge unspoken issue with tunnels is the need for proper ventilation. Granted electric vehicles / sleds presents far fewer issues then combustion engines, but it's still a huge deal.
Quote from: AncientU on 05/16/2017 01:43 pmQuote from: Long EZ on 05/16/2017 04:01 amQuote from: Johnnyhinbos on 05/12/2017 09:52 pmWell, one huge unspoken issue with tunnels is the need for proper ventilation. Granted electric vehicles / sleds presents far fewer issues then combustion engines, but it's still a huge deal.I am wondering if the motion of the vehicles in the tunnel could be used to push the air enough to ventilate the tunnel. Say at least one 'car' per minute. Also the ends of the segments would need proper design to expel air that the cars push into the station and inhale fresh air into the departing segment.Another thought is that making the cars be encased in an aero-shell could reduce drag by 5 times or so. Of course more drag would increase the air moved.Don't bother going underground if this is the rate. Think two orders of magnitude higher (>100 cars/min per tunnel).At 125km/hr, one car/min would have them spaced 2km apart. At one car/sec, they'd be spaced 35m apart, so you could probably double that density (120cars/min).At these rates, the tunnel air would be moving approximately the same speed as the cars, so just exhaust a portion and draw in make-up air.Each tube of the NYC Lincoln Tunnel has typical traffic load of 40,000 cars per day (2 lanes wide). This works out to under 30 cars per min on average. The tunnel uses a powered ventilation system to remove vehicle exhaust, potentially a complete change of air in under 2 mins.Of course with an all electric system you would need less air changes.
They depict people as either standing or sitting - would the kind of G-forces you'd feel in a vehicle traveling 125mph allow you to safely stand? That's a lot faster than a subway, and it could be undergoing various turns or stops.
The transparent exterior seems noteworthy - are you going to get much of a view when you're surrounded by tunnel walls?
People will feel less claustrophobic if the cars are transparent vs not, even if they do only get to see a tunnel wall. Subways have windows and spend most of the time underground. It would be pretty cool to see the tunnel walls racing past you.
Quote from: FishInferno on 05/27/2017 03:05 amPeople will feel less claustrophobic if the cars are transparent vs not, even if they do only get to see a tunnel wall. Subways have windows and spend most of the time underground. It would be pretty cool to see the tunnel walls racing past you.They would have to make tunnel walls and lighting in an appropriate way.
The Boring Company has revealed some concept images of what these underground shuttle-cars would look like:http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-tunnel-electric-vehicle-2017-5The transparent exterior seems noteworthy - are you going to get much of a view when you're surrounded by tunnel walls? They depict people as either standing or sitting - would the kind of G-forces you'd feel in a vehicle traveling 125mph allow you to safely stand? That's a lot faster than a subway, and it could be undergoing various turns or stops.
The glass part is integrated into the skate, they do not seem like separate vehicles at all. These are clearly just concept sketches, but they clearly show the glass pod as integrated with the skate.