CargoCap

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CargoCap is an automated underground transport system for freight that has only existed as a draft. It was designed under the direction of Dietrich Stein at the Ruhr University Bochum between 1998 and 2002 as part of a research project. Following this project, which was funded by the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry for Schools, Science and Research , the system, according to CargoCap GmbH, has meanwhile been developed to readiness for series production. In June 2006, Stein founded CargoCap GmbH based in Bochum for project planning and implementation , in which he is the managing partner.

concept

The idea of ​​this system is that

  • Transport capsules that each hold two Euro pallets ,
    • exclusively in a specially built underground tunnel system
    • run slowly and automatically.

The system competes with all established freight transport systems (ship, rail, truck) and should be compared to its users. Offer advantages.

In the first expansion stage, the system is mainly intended for urban areas, which can barely cope with increasing freight traffic on the road. The tunnel tubes would have an inside diameter of 2 m. They could be built largely without major construction sites on the surface with the help of a pipe jacking process. The nominal speed of the capsules is 10  m / s (36  km / h ). This speed is higher in metropolitan areas in particular than with truck traffic, which, for example, only moves at an average of 16 km / h in the Ruhr area. Against the background of increasing fine dust pollution in large cities , logistics and shipping companies could counter impending restrictions by shifting goods transport from trucks to the CargoCap system.

The term "CargoCap" derives from Cargo for "Cargo" and the short form of "cap" for English Capsule (capsule).

If this system were to be implemented, it could relieve the road network, whose capacity is limited, especially in urban areas, from truck traffic.

As a major advantage over. A comparison of construction costs is given for truck freight traffic: 1 km of overhead line for a section with 1 overhead line with a diameter of 2 m, costs 3.2 million euros according to CargoCap. In contrast, 1 km of 2-lane motorway expansion (depending on structures and development) costs 10 to 30 million euros and 1 km of road tunnels in urban areas cost more than 100 million euros according to the State Office for Road Construction North Rhine-Westphalia (2009).

Classification of CargoCap in the traditional transport connections
port railway station in front of the gate into the building
port ✈ ? ? ? ✓ ? ? ✓ ? ✓ ✓
railway station ? ? ✓ ? ? ✓ ? ✓ ✓
from the gate ? ✓ ? ✓ ? ✓ ✓
from the building ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✈ Airplane can move cargo from airport to airport
? Ship can move cargo from seaport to seaport
? Freight train can move freight from station to station; here it is assumed that every cargo airport also has a rail connection
? Truck can transport freight from "gate" to "gate" (every train station and every airport has a road connection)
✓ CargoCap can move cargo from one building to another

technology

The CargoCap capsules are rail vehicles . It is driven electrically by three-phase motors . The energy supply is contactless by electromagnetic induction , which makes the installation of a live contact wire in the tunnel tubes superfluous. This technology avoids the effects of wear and tear during power transmission and saves on fixtures for post-tensioning the overhead line as well as the space required in the tunnel tubes. The braking energy is to be returned to an energy storage device on board. In contrast to the railroad, the switches in the CargoCap route have no moving parts - the vehicle actively changes direction. Since this eliminates waiting times, individual capsules can leave a moving formation without losing any time.

Each load should be equipped with a transponder that contains all relevant data, such as B. destination, weight and recipient. This means that the cargo should be identifiable and localized at all times by the CargoCap system control. Loading and unloading should take place automatically at the goods transfer stations.

Research and Development

Since July 2005, an above-ground model track on a scale of 1: 2 has been operated at the Ruhr University in Bochum, on which the driving behavior in the association and the aerodynamics are examined. A main focus of the research is placed on the intelligent formation of driving groups, which makes it possible to ensure an energy-efficient operation of CargoCap. The model route takes up an area of ​​1,200 square meters and was built in part of the old machine house of the Bochum power plant . The hall is made available to the Ruhr University by RWE Power AG for a limited period in a cooperation agreement. In addition, the chair for machine elements and conveyor technology at the Ruhr University has a test bench on a scale of 1: 4 on which the switch construction is examined. In the research focus CargoCap, four dissertations have been published at the Ruhr-Universität since 2009.

In the course of 2009, further development progress was achieved. In August 2009, for example, the research project “Optimizing the underground freight transport system CargoCap to ensure energy-efficient operation”, funded by the German Federal Environment Foundation, was completed. This creates the basis for assessing various operating scenarios from an energetic point of view. In this context, extensive CFD simulations were carried out on the aerodynamics of the vehicles in the pipeline, which are currently being verified using an aerodynamics test bench. In addition, the development of the control software is progressing. In spring and summer 2009, vehicle tracking using RFID technology was extensively investigated experimentally. With the help of the knowledge gained, it will now be possible to implement the distance control between the vehicles on the model route.

As part of the CargoCap symposium "CargoCap - the logistics solution for climate and health protection in the conurbation" on February 12, 2010 under the patronage of Lutz Lienenkämper , the Minister for Building and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia , the results of a market potential analysis completed in 2009 were presented . According to this, the 85 km long so-called Ruhr area line between Dortmund and Duisburg with a total of 24 underground and above-ground stations can be operated economically. The research team is currently looking for an industrial partner to implement a pilot route.

Prizes and awards

  • In 2006, CargoCap was named "Selected Location 2006" by the " Germany - Land of Ideas " initiative. To mark this occasion, an open day was held at the CargoCap model line at the beginning of December 2006 with around 700 visitors.

Comparable concepts in history

  • From 1899 to 1956, the Chicago Tunnel Company operated an approximately 100 km long freight tunnel network under downtown Chicago . With the discontinuation of coal transports due to the conversion of the heating systems to natural gas and the increasing competition from trucks, the economic basis for further operation was lost.
  • The London Post Office Railway Association from 1928 to 2003 on a 10.5 km long tunnel route up to eight London postal sorting stations. Reasons for hiring were the relocation of post offices to other locations and the up to five times higher operating costs compared to road transport.
  • From 1910 to 1988, the Munich Post-U-Bahn ran from Munich Central Station to the Hopfenstrasse post office

In contrast to the CargoCap approach, all three systems were operated with trains based on classic railway technology, with the trains of the Post Office Railway and the Post-U-Bahn in Munich being driverless.

See also

RailCab is a project that also aims at individual transport on rails, but also in passenger transport . With his Freight Pipeline Company, the American engineer Henry Liu (†) pursued the idea of ​​transporting freight underground in capsules.

Pneumatic post is used to send documents up to about A4 format made of paper, thin cardboard or film, if they fit rolled into a cartridge with an outer diameter of about 10 cm, which is pneumatically transported through a pipe system with switches to post boxes in one or more buildings . Only in Hamburg was there a large pneumatic tube with an internal diameter of 45 cm from 1962 to 1976 .

In Vienna, the Steinhof hospital was built with the help of a narrow-gauge construction railway that was led up the slope between the buildings. This railway then served to supply the buildings, for example with laundry, until it was replaced by motor vehicle traffic.

The Graz regional hospital is also located on a south-facing slope and was equipped with a tunnel system for logistical supply as early as 1910. In 1992, a tunnel expansion began, which created two separate systems by 2004: A media tunnel for supply and disposal with electrical energy, heat, water, sewage and other things. As well as a logistics tunnel for the transport of food, laundry, equipment, but also patients with electric carts and trailers. These tunnel systems each have a length of 1.6 km with a clearance profile of W × H = 4 × 2.55 or 2.50 m.

The concept of the Hyperloop , presented by Elon Musk in 2013, consists of transport capsules on air cushions with travel speeds of up to 1,200 km / h. The transport takes place in steel tubes in which there is a partial vacuum.

In 2016, Cargo Sous Terrain planned a tunnel from Geneva via Bern and Zurich to St. Gallen . Coop (Switzerland) , Migros , Swisscom , Swiss Post , SBB and Swiss Mobiliar are involved. The first stage between Härkingen / Niederbipp and Zurich (costs approx. CHF 3.5 billion, which is to be financed privately) could be completed by 2030. Investors are also being sought.

literature

General

  • Michael Kersting: Subterrestrial freight transport in metropolitan areas: economic framework conditions and potential. ISL-Verlag, Hagen 2002, ISBN 3-933842-65-4 .
  • Lutz Hohaus, Jan Scholten: Underground transport system on the model test bench. In: RUBIN. Science magazine of the Ruhr University Bochum. Mechanical engineering special, 2004.
  • Setting the course for the logistics of the future - Ruhr-Uni Bochum develops a concept for the underground transport of goods. In: Deutsches Baublatt No. 335 March / April 2008 (published on the CargoCap homepage)

Dissertations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Press release on the occasion of the conference on February 12, 2010 in Bochum ( Memento of May 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.1 MB), CargoCap GmbH
  2. ↑ Dagobert Ernst: Researchers want to bring transport underground in the area. In: derwesten.de . February 12, 2010, accessed March 27, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Technology , CargoCap GmbH
  4. ↑ Research and Development - Research Focus CargoCap ( Memento from October 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), Ruhr University Bochum.
  5. ^ Research and development - press release model route , Ruhr University Bochum.
  6. ↑ Research and development - CargoCap switch test stand (PDF; 948 kB), Ruhr University Bochum.
  7. ↑ Current reports on the CargoCap homepage , CargoCap GmbH.
  8. ↑ Open day at CargoCap ( Memento from July 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), press release from the Chair for Machine Elements and Conveyor Technology, Ruhr University Bochum, 2006
  9. ↑ www.freightpipelinecompany.com ( Memento from May 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ).
  10. ↑ http://www.hamburgerunterwelten.de/Stadtspaziergang-Grossrohrpost.html Hamburger Unterwelten e. V., 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ http://www.klinikum-graz.at/cms/beitrag/10163047/2189099/ Unique underworlds of the LKH-Univ. Klinikum Graz press release from May 8, 2009.
  12. ↑ http://www.kages.at/cms/beitrag/10027333/825277/ LKH 2000: tunnel system put into operation, 2004 (with map).
  13. ↑ http://www.cargosousterrain.ch/ Cargo sous terrain: people above ground - goods below ground
  14. ↑ http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/unternehmen-und-konjektiven/Unterirdisch-durch-die-Schweiz/story/22901528 Tages-Anzeiger from January 26, 2016 - Underground through Switzerland