This master thesis investigates the aerodynamic response of the Hyperloop breach failure scenario. Using a scaled physical test setup, the air pressure inside a Hyperloop tube is lowered to 10 mbar, emulating Hyperloop conditions. By opening a breach hole inside the tube, air will flow into the tube due to the pressure difference with the outside ambient. A transparent PMMA tube is used to allow for background oriented schlieren(BOS) measurements. BOS is used to investigate shockwaves and pressure differences through the tube and to determine the feasibility of BOS for Hyperloop breach research. A ray tracing model based on Snell's law is created to relate physical test results to local pressure values inside the tube. Three tests are performed using two different sizes of breach holes. The first test is a low camera capture frequency test in which the entire pressure range from its initial 10 mbar to ambient 1000 mbar is captured. The second test is a shockwave detection test in which a high camera capture frequency is used in an attempt to capture shockwave effects on BOS images. The third test is a Hyperloop pod test, in which the effects of Hyperloop breach on a Hyperloop pod placed inside the test tube are measured. By comparing the results from BOS with measurements from pressure meters installed in the test setup, the feasibility of BOS is investigated. The results from the first test showed pixel displacement from BOS correlation images overestimate the pressure levels inside the tube while also showing pressure jumps compared to pressure values from the pressure meters. While data smoothing and correction operations could mitigate parts of the pressure overestimation and pressure jumps, error sources causing this remained. From the second test the presence of shockwaves could not be confirmed. While for the third test the pixel displacements around the pod could be visualized using a masking function over the Hyperloop pod, shockwave effects on the Hyperloop pod could not be visualized. From the experiment performed the use of background oriented schlieren for Hyperloop breach research is deemed feasible, however the results are sensitive to error sources. ... Read more

This report is the final report in a series of four reports that deals with the design of an advanced regional aircraft. The first step in the design is to determine the overall configuration of the ARA. By identifying the feasible configurations based on a literature study and performing a trade-o_, the conventional low wing with GTF engines underneath the wings configuration is found to be the optimal configuration for the ARA. After selecting the aircraft configuration, the preliminary subsystem design is initiated. Class I and II weight estimations are performed and a MTOW of 34500kg is determined. The selected wing planform is a two-piece complex sweptback planform with a wing area of 105m2 and a wing span of 30.7m. The thrust will be provided by two PW1217G GTFs with a maximum thrust of 76kN each. For the fuselage design, several configuration options are analysed taking into account structural and aerodynamic considerations. A trade-o_ is performed and the 4 abreast configuration with cargo in the tail is found to be the best choice. The tricycle configuration is chosen for the landing gear. The main gear is positioned 17.1m from the nose, while the nose gear is positioned 3.6m from the nose. The control surfaces comprising ailerons, spoilerons, elevators and rudder, are sized for extreme load cases. For roll control at low speeds outboard ailerons are used and spoilerons are used for roll control at high speeds. The elevators are sized to meet take-o_ and trim requirements. The rudder is sized to counteract the yawing moment with one-engine inoperative. Furthermore, the high-lift devices are sized. It is found that in order to fulfill landing and take-o_ requirements double-slotted Fowler flaps are required... ... Read more