Feature sponsored by Test & measurement
TECHNOLOGIES OF THE FUTURE NEED PRECISE MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY
The successful Hyperloop pod from mu-zero HYPERLOOP runs with sensor technology from Kistler...
he global competition for the best technological concepts for low-energy mobility of the future is humming. As part of the annual European Hyperloop Week, dedicated students are currently driving forward the development of contact-free transport. To make hovering capsules shoot through vacuum tubes at the speed of an arrow, it needs high- precision, contact-free measuring technology that can measure on two axes without antennas. The basic idea of hovering passenger capsules dates back to the 19th century. The goal of the European Hyperloop Week is its concrete implementation, fueled by Elon Musk, who described the vision of ‘Hyperloop’ in a paper in 2013. Young engineers from around the world compete at European Hyperloop Week to develop the best design for compressed air- powered capsules. The mu-zero HYPERLOOP association from
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Baden-Württemberg, Germany was one of the contenders. Within a very short time, the students from Karlsruhe and Stuttgart made a name for themselves in the scene and achieved remarkable success. What began as an initiative by seven
people in May 2020 is now a nonprofit organisation with 70 team members in their second season, headed by Pia Mogge, Robin Köhnlein and Tobias Wittmann as the association’s board. They depend on sponsors to finance their promising technology, as the universities alone cannot handle the financial outlay.
PRECISE AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE TWO-AXIS DISPLACEMENT MEASUREMENTS
Kistler has been providing mu-zero HYPERLOOP with consultancy and support since last year and helped the researchers to equip their ‘Aurora’ prototype with the Correvit optical sensor. In the summer of 2022, mu-zero HYPERLOOP promptly claimed the unofficial world championship title at the European Hyperloop Week. “We were the fastest on the 260m-long track, and we also received the award for the best electronics concept,” says Robin Köhnlein, CFO of mu-zero HYPERLOOP. Aurora has an onboard CAN system that integrates the Correvit sensor from Kistler. “At the beginning, it was difficult to place the sensor so that it had an optimal view of the route,”
Fixed onto a special support, the optical Correvit sensor from Kistler (centre of picture in black) rapidly delivers precise data on speed, displacement and acceleration.
Marius Fischer, Pirilsu Keskiner and Max Halwax with the three jury awards won by mu-zero HYPERLOOP at the European Hyperloop Week in Delft – one of them was for the electronics, which included the Correvit sensor from Kistler.
In the second season of the European Hyperloop Week, the mu-zero HYPERLOOP team claimed several awards with their ‘Aurora’ pod – and measurement technology from Kistler played its part in their success.
Köhnlein explains. “But Kistler was always on hand to assist us with advice and practical support. Another big help was the test kit: it allowed us to try the sensor out manually, so we could get familiar with the technology, handling and measurement data right from the outset." The Correvit SFII is mounted at the very rear of the vehicle, is cooled passively, and is integrated into the pod's in-house developed 24-V onboard power network. The properties of the two-axis sensor make it ideal for the application, as the non-contact measurement principle is particularly helpful once the pod is hovering above the rail. So- called electrodynamic levitation via a rotating three-phase system - with an optimum air gap of one to two millimeters between the rail and the vehicle - eliminates rolling resistance in addition to air resistance. Based on the optical measurement principle, this technology from Kistler is uniquely capable of measuring Hyperloop speed without contact and at the same time extremely precisely and slip-free.
20 March 2023 Instrumentation Monthly
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