What Next...Concept Engineering
Underground Pnuematic Delivery System in London
"A group of academics is proposing a system of underground tunnels which could deliver food and other goods in all weathers with massive energy savings. The Foodtubes group wants to put goods in metal capsules 2m long, which are shifted through underground polyethylene tubes at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, directed by linear induction motors and routed by intelligent software to their destinations.The group, which includes an Oxford physics professor and logistics experts, wants £15 million to build a £5 mile test circuit, and believes the scheme could fund itself if used by large supermarkets and local councils, and could expand because it uses an open architecture.
The proposal uses lightweight capsules, which are roughly the same size as the cages that are carried by supermarket lorries, Hodson explained. They are moved by an electromagnetic “kick” from linear induction motors built into the side of the underground tubes and, at junctions, are steered one way or another by other linear motors operating under computer control.
The group moved to linear induction motors, when it realised that vacuum power, normally used in smaller capsule transport systems, would be impractical on this scale."
Source
No comments:
Post a Comment