Gatorloop Design Team
I worked on the collegiate Hyperloop Pod Competition hosted by SpaceX as a mechanical systems engineer for the University of Florida team. The competition was judged solely on generating maximum speed, and given that SpaceX did not provide a propulsion source for the corresponding year, teams had to develop their own propulsion mechanism. I was involved with conceptualizing ideas for propulsion systems and comparing different materials for the fairing.
Propulsion Concepts
Self-Propulsion Concept #1: Utilization of a belt drive motor constructed out of aluminum plates and a linear induction motor to generate max torque in a confined space.
Self-Propulsion Concept #2: Utilization of a fabricated exterior frame to linear induction motors will launch the pod utilizing aluminum plates running through the linear induction motors.
Fairing Research
The fairing below was used as an estimated shape to contain the mechanical subsystems of the vehicle. I shelled the fairing based on varying thicknesses per material and compared the properties shown below.
Vehicle Fairing Model
Cross section of model with applied Fiberglass material
Based on the research, the group decided to use the 1/16" carbon fiber material as a basis for the fairing due to its low weight, high strength, and high operating temperature. All material data was found from Matweb and the SolidWorks material library.