Hyperloop is an innovative high-speed transportation concept in which pods travel at up to 760 mph through a near-vacuum tunnel. To reach those speeds, the pod must eliminate nearly all friction with the track, which is achieved through magnetic levitation (maglev).
One method of integrating maglev technology is electromagnetic suspension (EMS). With EMS, electromagnets on the pod produce an attractive force to a magnetized material on the track, lifting the vehicle off the surface entirely. UC Irvine's Hyperloop student team, HyperXite, needs to demonstrate that this technology works at a small scale before it can be integrated into a full-size pod. Without a working levitation prototype, the team has no way to validate their design choices, test their control systems, or demonstrate the concept to advisors and sponsors.
This project matters because magnetic levitation is the key to making Hyperloop viable. It's what separates it from conventional high-speed rail. By eliminating the friction between the pod and track, the system becomes dramatically more energy efficient and capable of reaching speeds no wheeled vehicle can match. The work done here directly informs how future HyperXite pods will be designed and built.
The results of this project will directly inform the HyperXite 12 Levitation Subteam, who will use this project's hardware and findings to guide their full-scale development. Additionally, faculty, researchers, and eventually the public may benefit from advances in sustainable, high-speed transportation.
The core challenge of magnetic levitation is keeping a vehicle floating at a precise, stable height. The team is solving this using Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS), where electromagnets mounted under the chassis are attracted upward toward steel plates on the track, lifting the pod off the surface. Because this attraction grows stronger as the magnet approaches the track, the system must continuously and automatically adjust the electrical current to the electromagnets to maintain a safe, consistent gap.
To develop and validate this system, the team is building two physical systems. The first is a test rig, a simplified bench-top setup that isolates a single electromagnet so the team can tune and verify the control system before scaling up. The second is a full prototype chassis, a rectangular aluminum frame housing four electromagnets that rides along a modified I-beam track.
Key technologies and tools include:
- SolidWorks for 3D modeling, used to verify that all components fit together and interact correctly before fabrication
- A PID Control System, a standard engineering feedback method that uses sensor data to calculate in real time how much to increase or decrease the current to maintain a precise 5 mm levitation gap, coded on Python
- Simulink for physics-based simulation, used to test and optimize the suspension system digitally before it was physically built
By the end of the project, the team will have designed, built, and validated a working small-scale electromagnetic levitation system. The work is organized around two major physical deliverables and a modified track.
Physical Deliverables:
- Proof-of-Concept Test Rig - A bench-top device used to validate electromagnet selection, sensor integration, and closed-loop control system operation. This rig constrains motion to a single vertical axis, allowing the team to isolate and tune the control system before testing it on the full prototype.
- Levitation Prototype Chassis - A fully assembled rectangular aluminum frame housing four electromagnets, inductive distance sensors, and a wheel-based lateral guidance system. This chassis rides along the modified I-beam track and serves as a close representation of what a full-scale HyperXite pod levitation system would look like.
- Modified I-Beam Track - A standard HyperXite aluminum I-beam fitted with bolted low-carbon steel plates, providing the ferromagnetic surface the electromagnets need to generate lift.