EK101 & EA301 ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY (EIS)

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

Comparison of Maglev Train and Steam Powered Train in terms of

sustainability

Name Student ID

Lee May Yan (Leader) 1001436541

Harriprashanth A/L Shanmugavel 1001438249
Sathish Kumar A/L Letchumanan 1001232180
Chong Wei Hao 1001333733
Low Jun Xian @ Henry Low 1001233622
Sivanantha A/L Paramas Sivam 1001335595

UCSI UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
 Table of Content

Page

Abstract 1

Brief Introduction 2

Details Background of maglev train and steam powered train 3

Description of maglev train and steam powered train 4

Comparison of engineering design 7-10

Conclusion 11

References 12
 Abstract

Steam powered train are powered by steam engine that was invented in 1804 by Richard
Trevithick. The steam powered train are fuelled by burning combustible resources such as coals.
The steam produced is piped into the cylinder, causing the piston to move. Since the pistons
are connected to the wheels, the wheels move. As technology advances over the years, rail
transportation improves. Maglev trains works on the principle of magnetic forces. Maglev has
many advantages over steam powered train. Despite the advantages of Maglev train is quite
promising, maglev trains are not enough to overshadow its disadvantages. In this project, the
comparison of both steam powered train and maglev trains are discussed in of sustainability.

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 Brief Introduction

The integration of steam engine changed the industrial revolution, steam engine was one of the
major catalyst that jump started the Industrial Revolution 1760 to 1840 and magnified its
intensity exponentially (Schlager, 2000). Since then it had been a major turning point in earth's
ecology and the relationship between humans and environment (Elizabeth Healy,2015). The
next revolution engineers look for are environmental protection, economic development and
social equity, to constitute the foundations of what can be called a Sustainability Revolution
(Edwards 2005). All the engineer inventions creates impact on environment because of
ineffective designs and little or no environmental concern, engineers are part of the problem
and also an integral part of the solution.

Here are two different approach of technology, steam engines and electromagnets. Steam
engine an outstanding source of transport system during Industrial Revolution (Baumeister,
2012) and electromagnets discovered by scientist Hans Christian Oersted during 1820 that an
electrical current in a wire from a battery caused a nearby compass needle to deflect. The
innovation of two inventions brings us steam train and maglev both rail dependent vehicle.

Steam trains also known as steam locomotive are powered by steam engine primarily fuel by
coals. They were historically used for moving freight and other materials, as well as passengers.
While maglev is short for Magnetic Levitation which trains float on electric powered
electromagnets rail using the principle of magnetic repulsion. The world's first commercial
Maglev line opened in 2004 located in Shanghai, China. While electric power can be generated
cleaner and renewable methods and coal emits carbon dioxide into air. The comparison of
sustainability between two similar rail vehicle which technology parted for more than three
centuries. Mulder (2006) phrased how sustainable design deeply contrasts with conventional
one: sustainability is not an add-on criterion. It is about all characteristics that a design should
meet. In this project, two engineering designs which are maglev and steam powered trains are
studied in terms of sustainability.

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 Details Background

In 1902 first magnetic train was invented by Alfred Zehden from Germany. Magnetic levitation
(Maglev) train was started in the beginning of the 1900s century, when the American Robert
Goddard and French Emile Bachelet devise the idea of frictionless train. However, their ideas
are not succeed for about 60 years until the Japanese and German scientist started to do research
in the beginning of 1970s. The Japanese constructed their first test line which is 7 km in 1975
and finished it in 1977. The test runs with a velocity of 517 km/h was started in July 1977 and
in 1990 the Japanese constructed the Yamanashi Maglev test line. Their prototype is applying
repulsive forces to levitate the train which also known as electrodynamics suspension. The
German which started their research in 1970s also took ten years to complete the construction
of the first track model. The test running was 1.674 km with a velocity of 450 km/h. In 2003,
they finished a 30 km long variant of maglev train which apply attractive forces known as
electromagnetic suspension and this was the first high-speed maglev train that people can ride
on opened in Shanghai, China.

The idea of steam locomotives began with the development of the steam engine. In 1698,
Thomas Savery invented a device that uses steam to pump water. In 1712, this design was
ameliorate by Thomas Newcomen. In 1763, James Watt who is a Scottish engineer made
further significant improvements to the steam engine. In 1804, the first steam locomotive was
built in Britain by an engineer known as Richard Trevithick who born in Cornwall but
unfortunately his design was not well received. In 1814, the first successful steam engine
locomotive called Blcher was built by the British Engineer George Stephenson. It could haul
30 tons of coal at a speed of 4mph going uphill. In 1825, he created the first public railway for
steam locomotives. In 1825 the engine, known as Locomotion carry 450 passengers with the
distance of 25 miles from Darlington to Stockton at a speed of 15 miles per hour. In 1830, the
Tom Thumb had its first run hauled 36 passengers and went 18 miles per hour. Besides that,
steam locomotive known as The Best Friend of Charleston was the first locomotive to pull cars
in America and regularly carry passengers.

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 Description

Maglev Train

Maglev trains are high speed trains powered by electromagnetic propulsion. Maglev is the
short form for magnetic levitation and, as the name suggests, the train floats above the rails as
it moves. Electromagnetic propulsion, on simple terms, means the train move by the
electromagnetic field that was created by the coils and electricity.

The maglev train rail system has three main components in the system: a large power source
to power the electromagnetic field, metal coils lining the track and large guidance magnets
attached to the underside of the maglev train. This system is enough to power the train so
conventional engines that we usually see in our car or other trains are not needed. The engine
of maglev train is the system as they are the ones that help propel the train.

The coils along the track repels the large magnets under the train and lift the train up as high
as 10cm above the track itself. To move, power is then supplied to the coils in front of the train
to pull it forward and coils behind to repel it to add on to the thrust. The fact that the train is
levitated eliminates friction between rail and wheels, allowing the train to go even faster than
normal trains, at more than 500 kph.

Steam powered train

Steam powered train are powered by steam engine, which is a machine that burns coal to release
heat energy. The heat released from the coal then boils the water in a huge tank above the
furnace. This boiling water will release steam that is pumped into a cylinder with a piston,
which moves in a reciprocating way. This piston will then drive a machine that is attached to
it, like the steam powered train that can transport hundreds or thousands of people or goods.

The boiler in a steam powered train is a big tank of water that has some metal tubes running
through it. The tube follows from the furnace to the chimney, carrying the heat and the smoke
of the fire with them. This arrangement of boiler tubes, as they are called, means the engine's
fire can heat the water in the boiler tank much faster, so it produces steam more quickly and
efficiently. The water that makes the steam either comes from tanks mounted on the side of the
locomotive or from a separate wagon called a tender, pulled behind the locomotive.

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 Comparison of Engineering Design

Steam train, or steam locomotive have been used for a long time; right from early 19th century
up to middle of 20th century where they were gradually superseded by electric and diesel
locomotives. The majority of steam trains were retired from regular service by the 1980s,
though several continue to run on tourist and heritage sites. There are many advantages and
disadvantages of using steam engines, which is used primarily to power steam trains. One of
the major advantages of using steam engines is extreme fuel availability, where almost
anything can be used as fuel. This is due to the fact that combustion of fuel to produce steam
can be possible from burning wood, coal, other biomass and so on. In countries like China and
India where there is large reserves of coal, it is actually more cost effective to use steam engines
compared to diesel powered engines as it would be costly to import diesel in great amount from
overseas. The next advantage is that steam engines do not stall under loading. This is due to
the fact that steam engines are powerful engines and have a wide range of rotation per minute
(RPM) and have linear lines for torque curve and horsepower curve. They might stop turning,
but once the load has lessened, it will resume to produce torque again. Last but not least, steam
engines have an upper hand when traveling at higher altitude compared to diesel powered
engines. This is because boiler pressure is relatively constant no matter the altitude and they
remain useful movers on mountainous or strongly elevated terrain. However, for diesel
powered engines, this is not the case as lowered air pressure means that diesel engines develop
substantially less power unless they are fitted with superchargers.

The disadvantages of using steam engines, however far outweighs the advantages. The first
major disadvantage is a steam engine has low efficiency. The thermal efficiency of a steam
engine is about 20 per cent which means that a steam engine can convert only about 20 per cent
of the heat energy into work. One of the reasons for the low efficiency of a steam engine is that
the steam used in it is not at a very high temperature. Another reason for the low efficiency of
a steam engine is the loss of heat because of the large exposed surface area of the steam engine,
particularly the boiler and the cylinder. Next, is steam engine is unsafe to use. A steam engine
is not very safe to use because its boiler can burst due to excessive steam pressure. In order to
get the maximum work from the heat energy, the steam has to be maintained at high
temperature and a very high pressure in the boiler. If, by chance, the steam pressure increases
too much, then the boiler can burst leading to loss of life and property. Thus, the most

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dangerous part of a steam is its boiler where steam is produced. Actually, in the early days of
the steam engine, good materials were not available for the construction of boilers which could
withstand high steam pressure. Even the construction techniques were not perfect. So, a lot of
accidents were caused in the early days of the steam engine due to the bursting of boilers,
because of poor materials used in making boilers and faulty construction of boilers.
Furthermore, steam engine takes a long time to start. Time taken to burn off the source of fuel
can take up a long time, depending on the size of steam engine and the amount of water it needs
to boil off to create enough steam to power the engine. Not only that, steam engines are famous
for their humongous size. Due to its big boiler and furnace, a typical steam engine is huge,
heavy and clumsy. Since the boiler of a steam engine is very heavy, this creates unnecessary
weight that needed to be lugged around and huge amount of energy is needed to overcome the
stationary inertia of the train. Finally, a steam engine contributes to the pollution problems due
to burning of combustible material like wood and coal.

Figure 1: Steam locomotive components

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 Figure 2: Thermal image of a steam engine

Fast forward to the end of 20th century, maglev trains have started to gain popularity. Decades
of research and development have been spent on improving and perfecting maglev trains to a
level where it is sustainable on many aspects to operate Maglev trains. The foremost advantage
of maglev trains is the fact that it doesnt have moving parts as conventional trains do, as a
result of which the wear and tear of parts is minimal - and that reduces the maintenance cost of
the Maglev system by a significant extent. More importantly, there is no physical contact
between the train and the track, as a result of which there is no rolling resistance. While
electromagnetic drag and air friction do exist, that doesnt hinder the maglevs ability to clock
an amazing speed exceeding 200 mph with ease. Absence of wheels also comes as a boon as
you dont have to deal with deafening noise that is likely to come with them. Maglevs also
boast of being environment friendly as they dont resort to internal combustion engines. These
trains are weather proof, which means rain, snow, or severe cold dont really hamper their
performance. Experts are of the opinion that these trains are a lot safe than their conventional
counterparts as they are equipped with state-of-the-art safety systems, which can keep things
in control even when the train is cruising at a high speed.

While the advantages of Maglev train system may seem quite promising in themselves, they
are not enough to overshadow its disadvantages. The biggest problem with the maglev trains
is the high cost incurred on the initial setup. While the fast conventional trains that have been
introduced of late work fine on the tracks which were meant for slow trains initially, maglev
trains require an all new set up right from the scratch. As the present railway infrastructure is

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of no use for maglevs, it will either have to be replaced with the Maglev system or an entirely
new set up will have to be created - both of which will cost a decent amount in terms of initial
investment. If electrodynamic suspension (EDS) and electromagnetic suspension (EMS)
systems are compared head to head, the EMS system has a slight edge in terms of cost as the
EDS system requires installation of permanent magnets in the guideway. Even though
inexpensive as compared to EDS, it is still expensive as compared to other modes.

Figure 3: Working principle of maglev trains

Figure 4: Types of levitation

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 Conclusion

The comparison of both steam powered train and maglev train is made based on the
sustainability. The steam powered train has a few advantages such as the abundant fuel
resources availability and do not stall under loading. In terms of sustainability, steam powered
train operates based on fuels combustion. Combusting fuels may release harmful gases to the
atmosphere, thus polluting the environment. In comparison to steam powered train, maglev
train on the other hand operates on magnetic levitation. There is no combustion of fuels thus,
no harmful gases are released to the environment. In terms of economical growth, the maglev
train seem to incurr a high cost at the initial set up while the railway set up for steam powered
train had been operating for more than decades. In a long term view, the maglev train seems to
the more promising transportation since technology is advancing. Society would prefer to reach
the desired destination quickly. As such, the maglev train is has many more advantages over
the steam powered train as maglev train travels at a speed of 268 mph whereas steam powered
train operates at a lower speed at 126 mph. By comparing all three aspects in terms of
sustainability, the maglev train is said to be a more sustainable design as compared to the steam
powered train as it does not pollute the environment as much as the steam powered trains and
it travels at high speed, thus saving the travelling time of the society.

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 References

1. Alexis .A. (2011, March 1). Magnetically Levitated Train. Retrieved from:
http://maglevt.weebly.com/index.html
2. Richard Cavendish (2014, July 7). George Stephenson's First Steam Locomotive. Retrieved
from: http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/george-stephensons-first-steam-
locomotive
3. Gagnon, B., Leduc, R., & Savard, L. (2012). From a conventional to a sustainable
engineering design process: different shades of sustainability. Journal of Engineering
Design, 23(1), 49-74.
4. Schlager, Neil. (2000). The Steam Engine Powers the Industrial Revolution" in Science
and Its Times: Set: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery 0-7876-
3932-X, 978-0-7876-3932-7, 399.
5. Abhijit Naik (2011). Advantages and Disadvantages of Maglev Trains. Retrieved from:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-maglev-trains.html
6. Satish Rana (2011). What are advantages and disadvantages of steam engine machines.
Retrieved from: https://www.quora.com/What-are-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-
steam-engine-machines

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