Zeleros and ArcelorMittal test the performance of steel for hyperloops

Zeleros, the European company developing the scalable hyperloop, an ultra high-speed transportation system for both public and goods transport, and ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company, have carried out trials to analyse the behaviour of steel grades for optimal use in hyperloops.

A testing facility in the form of a spinning wheel that can reach linear speeds of up to 500km per hour has been designed and built at ArcelorMittal’s Rail Excellence Centre in Spain, to test how certain steels perform in ultra-high-speed conditions, prior to testing on a scaled hyperloop track. The results provide data to further advance the selection of the best steels for hyperloop use, considering safety, energy efficiency, cost and scalability as the main decision criteria.

Zeleros and ArcelorMittal have been working together since 2017. Since then, experts from both companies – including all of ArcelorMittal’s R&D centres - have jointly developed studies to analyse the way in which materials behave in high-speed conditions, measuring the effects of key characteristics for hyperloop technology, such as the electromagnetic properties of steels (hyperloop designs propose the use of magnetic levitation).  As part of the collaborative work between the two companies, ArcelorMittal’s rails business in Europe – ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products, Rails and Special Sections - has developed new products with improved guiding and braking performance, as part of the wider co-engineering project between Zeleros and ArcelorMittal.

Source: ArcelorMittal, Photo: Zeleros