Design Optimization of a 2G HTS Magnet for Subsonic Transportation

Abstract

Motivated by the growing interest in the Hyperloop system, we have researched a new mode of transportation that runs inside a vacuum tube at more than 1,000 km/h. A 2G high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet with a detachable cryocooling system has been developed to thrust and levitate the capsule train efficiently; it also reduces its weight. To compensate for performance losses due to increased operating temperature, the HTS coil shape of the on-board superconducting magnet is topologically optimized with respect to cost and performance. With a number of linear constraints converted from nonlinear superconductivity conditions, many linear topology optimization problems are solved, and then the most preferred design is determined by considering its shape, cost, and performance.