ODU's stalled maglev gears up for next phase

NORFOLK

With the maglev train that sat idle for years removed from the elevated guideway at Old Dominion University, the unfinished stairway that was the start of a passenger station met the wrecking ball last week.

ODU and its magnetic levitation research team are preparing for the next phase of developing a working vehicle that they hope one day will revolutionize urban travel. Maglev uses magnets to float a train over elevated tracks.

Testing will begin on campus this year on another maglev vehicle, this one the size of a van or small bus, through a partnership first announced two years ago with Massachusetts-based MagneMotion Inc. The project received a $7.9 million federal grant with more than $700,000 going to ODU for its role.

"We've positioned ourselves as a center for maglev research," said Thomas E. Alberts, an aerospace engineering professor and leader of ODU's maglev research. "A project like this brings funds to the university, which keeps our maglev operation healthy. It also allows us to build on the knowledge that we've acquired here at ODU."

MagneMotion has been working to develop urban maglev for nearly two decades.

ODU began working on maglev after Georgia-based American Maglev Technology promised in 1999 to deliver a working system in 2002. Technical glitches, cost overruns, unpaid bills and lawsuits derailed the project.

After the project's rocky start, expectations changed. ODU took control and changed the focus from a transportation system to a research project with the goal of producing a prototype of a low-cost, low-speed maglev train. Research and testing has been on going mostly inside ODU's laboratory.

MagneMotion's design is similar to ODU's in some ways but uses different magnets for lift and a different propulsion system to move the vehicle. Its goal is to reach speeds of 100 mph.

"We're not really tied to one technology," Alberts said. "We just want to do research on anything that can help bring maglev to the market in an affordable way."

MagneMotion has successfully operated a small-scale indoor prototype and is now transferring the technology to a vehicle on a 160-foot test track at the company headquarters.

"Tests should begin pretty soon," said Jeremiah Creedon, ODU's director of transportation research. "I'm assuming they will go as well as everything else has gone."

The prototype will come to ODU later this year for tests along 500 feet of retro-fitted track.

The ODU team is analyzing how the train will perform on its track and how to adapt the infrastructure to accommodate it. Once it arrives, ODU will provide technical support and full-scale testing on campus. Initial tests would be conducted jointly, with ODU later assuming full testing responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Alberts and his team of professors and graduate students continue to develop their own maglev vehicle.

Creedon said the team works with between $100,000 to $150,000 a year in university funding on the project. They've achieved levitation and movement of a small-scale test sled, called a bogie. Last spring, it moved back and forth on the track but was brought back in the lab for refinements.

"Several things need to be improved," Creedon said. "When we're satisfied with the progress, we will test it on the track again. We're tying to get improved performance, bigger distance and faster speed."

The MagneMotion team will use the portion of the guideway on the east end of campus. The ODU team is planning to do its research on the portion of the guideway closer to Powhatan Avenue on the west side.

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com