Creation of a Modelica library for vacuum transportation applications and the design of a cooling system for the AlphaTube

Vacuum transportation is a concept for a new mode of transport where vehicles are levitating in a partial vacuum tube traveling at almost the speed of sound. EuroTube Foundation was founded with the purpose to accelerate the development of vacuum transportation technologies and is going to build the very first European vacuum tube test track called AlphaTube in Switzerland. In this thesis a basis is laid for an extensive modeling library containing different models for vacuum transportation applications and linear drives. The library is created using the modeling language Modelica. First models added to the library are created with the focus on the thermal domain to design an optimised cooling system for AlphaTube. With the help of parameter variations on an AlphaTube system model a cooling concept was developed. The most efficient cooling is achieved if water from the nearby river as cold and as close as possible is available at the heat sources leading to large temperature gradients between source and refrigerant.

Studienbetreuer: Ulf Christian Müller