Aerodynamic Design of the Hyperloop Concept

The Hyperloop is a ground-based transportation system concept slated to drastically reduce travel times over medium range distances, for example between San Francisco and Los Angeles. This paper discusses aerodynamic design considerations for the Hyperloop pod. A Hyperloop capsule travels in an unconventional flow regime (very low Reynolds numbers with high Mach numbers), which brings with it unique challenges. This work focuses on the aerodynamic design of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hyperloop pod. For this design, it is crucial to delay separation over the pod as much as possible by forcing the boundary layer to transition farther upstream, resulting in a droplet shape for the aerodynamic shell. The performance of this design is investigated for nominal flow conditions as well as for flow conditions close to the Kantrowitz limit. The overall design of this team’s Hyperloop pod won the design competition of the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition in January 2016.