PHY098

Entrepreneurial Mindset Assignment

Name ID Number
Ahmad Irfan Hazim Bin Juslaini 2019202598
Izz Idlan Bin Zulkefly 2019271584
Muhammad Dinie Hazim Bin Azali 2019258688
Muhamad Imran Bin Harun 2019292138

Lecture’s Name: Pn. Hasnorhafiza Binti Husni

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Contents

1. PROBLEM STATEMENT..................................................................................................................1
2. ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................................................2
3. APPLICATION.................................................................................................................................3
4. SYNTHESIS......................................................................................................................................6
5. DECISION MAKING.........................................................................................................................7
6. References.....................................................................................................................................8

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PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS ASSIGNMENT

1. PROBLEM STATEMENT

There are many public transportations such as taxi, buses, aeroplanes and trains. But
now we want to focus on trains because train is the public transport that has the most
passengers every year compared to other public transport. Many people choose trains because
they want to avoid heavy traffic and the ticket price are cheaper than others. There are many
types of train in the world, such as commuter, bullet train, LRT and MRT. The train has
many passengers to bring, so the shorter the time it takes to arrive at certain destination, the
better. Unfortunately, conventional trains still cannot reach their maximum performance and
they still has a lot improvement can be done. Luckily, there are some brilliant people have
invented magnetic train or called ‘Maglev Train’ that are faster than the conventional train.
Therefore, we can see that the maglev train is faster and more comfortable for the passengers
compared to the conventional train.

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 2. ANALYSIS

Every magnet has its north pole and a south pole. Similar pole magnets repel each other while
opposite poles attract each other. Permanent magnets are always magnetic while an
electromagnet is magnetic only when an electric current flow through. The poles of an
electromagnet are related to the direction of the current. If the currents direction is reversed,
the poles are also reversed. The electromagnet is affected by the alternating currents, so they
can quickly switch their pull and push poles, and thus continually propel the train forward.
The formula to calculate the electromagnetic force is:

F = q (E + v × B)

Where E is the magnetic field, v is the velocity of the particle, and B is the magnetic field.
Maglev is a transport method that uses magnetic levitation to move trains without touching
the ground. A maglev train levitates above the tracks on a magnetic field. Magnets on the
track push and lift the train up in the air simultaneously. The magnets used to levitate the
trains are superconducting magnet thus they can create magnetic field 10 times stronger than
the normal magnet. To calculate the amount of lift, a magnetic pressure can be defined.
For example, the magnetic pressure of a magnetic field on a superconductor can be calculated
by:
B2
Pmag=
2 µ0

where  Pmag is the force per unit area in pascals, B is the magnetic field just above the
superconductor in tesla, and   µ0= 4π×10−7 N·A−2 is the permeability of the vacuum. In
the maglev technology there are no wheels instead it relies on the magnetic levitation.
The train travels along a field of magnets which control the train's stability and
speed. Maglev trains are therefore faster than the conventional trains and is far better. The
maglev train floats on a cushion of air thus eliminating friction. This causes the trains able to
reach high speed of 310 mph easily.

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 3. APPLICATION

There are many more ways that can be implemented to increase the trains overall
performance such as:

1. Use lighter but strong materials

The primary materials used to manufacture the normal trains are metals such as

steel, aluminium, zinc, and plastic. It can’t be denied that steel is strong, but that doesn't mean
it can't be improved. It is really heavy and strong but there are stronger metals out there.
Researchers in South Korea have created an alloy that's as strong as titanium, lighter than
ordinary steel, but is cheap. The new alloy is formed by alloying the steel with aluminium,
this causes the steel to be lighter, but also weaker. To improve the weakness, a dash of
manganese and a sprinkle of nickel are added, while modifying the way the metal crystals
formed up to the nan scale. This new alloy has no name just yet but is referred to as High
Specific Strength Steel. It has an even better strength ratio compared to its weight than the far
more expensive titanium.

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 2. Lower the centre of gravity

The normal train has lengths 12.19 m (40.0 ft), 14.63 m (48.0 ft) and 16.15 m (53.0 ft) which
is most common while for the heights is ranged from 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) to 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in).
We believe that the height is not necessary and should be decreased slightly.

3. Reduce air resistance

Air resistance plays an important role in maintaining the trains speed. The trains velocity is
related to its length and shape. Trains with an aerodynamic shape can achieve higher velocity
and arrives faster to a certain destination.

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 4. Straight railway tracks

The train tracks nowadays mostly consist of sharp dangerous bend for the trains. The trains
are heavy thus causing difficulties for it when facing sharp bends. The probability of an
accident happening increases because of this matter.

5. Ballastless tracks

A ballastless track or commonly known as slab track is a structure where the sleepers and

ballast is replaced by an inflexible construction of concrete or asphalt. The inflexibility
ensures its consistent track geometry because it has a low level of deformation. This leads to
ensuring the trains overall performance as the track is smoother.

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 4. SYNTHESIS
First way that can be implemented to increase train overall performance is use lighter
but strong materials. As we know, by using a lighter material, it can reduce the mass of the
train and indirectly can reduce the inertia. Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion describes
inertia as, the tendency of objects to either remain still or continue to move, unless an
external force act upon it. As example, a boy with twice the mass of his friend has twice the
inertia.[ CITATION Ste16 \l 17417 ] This clearly explains that mass will affects the inertia of an
object.

Second application is lowering the centre of gravity, the train will be more stables and
it can move faster than usual. The lower your centre of gravity, the easier it is to maintain
your equilibrium. [ CITATION Chr20 \l 17417 ] All objects have concentrated point called their
centre of gravity but for a complex object like a train, the centre of gravity differs time to
time due to variety of number of passengers on board.

In other way to increase your train overall perfomance, you can reduce air resistance
by using an aerodynamic shape for the train body. As we know very well, a high-speed train's
length is much greater than its width and height, therefore it has a long and thin structure.
[ CITATION Hex18 \l 17417 ] Hence, it can move faster than the normal train.

Then, we also can build a straight railway tracks to increase the train performance.
Although the inertia was reduced but, the train still had a large mass. Therefore, if the tracks
have a dangerous sharp bend, the probability it will tip over will be higher. In 2013, The
Alvia 151 train crash near Santiago de Compostela, which killed 80 people and left 95 in
hospital. [ CITATION Hoo13 \l 17417 ] This clearly expose that sharp bend track can be
dangerous to the train.

Finally, the ballastless track can be useful in offers highly consistent track geometry
mainly due to its inelasticity compared to the traditional structure. This results in fewer
deformation and generally results in smoother running. Hence, it is proven that it can increase
the tracks life span and reduce the maintenance cost.

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 5. DECISION MAKING

So, the best improvement that we can make to the train to work even better are using
the light and strong material and also reduce the air resistant. We make this decision based on
the costs, workload and times needed to apply it, the ballastless tracks need a lot of money to
build. For the straight railway track there is lots of work needed to remove the obstacle and
digging a tunnel and lastly lowering the centre of gravity takes too much time since requires a
careful and precise research. Firstly, the material that suitable to be use to make the train is
the integral aluminium compound. This material is lighter and have a high durability, making
them a perfect material for Maglev train. Next, reducing the air resistant by using the vacuum
tunnel. When the train move in the vacuum tunnel the maximum speed could increase
rapidly. In standard set-ups these have achieved speeds of up to 581km/h (361mph). But in a
vacuum, some believe they could reach speeds of more than 4,000km/h[ CITATION Jon \l 17417
]. This is because vacuum has no air molecule. Therefore, the resistant value will be zero if no
air leaking in the tunnel, this shall maximise the Maglev top speed and reduce the time taken
to arrive to a certain destination. In conclusion, we hope that in the future the train will
continue to improve by using the latest technology to ensure the safety and comfort of the
passengers.

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 6. References

He-xuan Hu, W.-x. L. (2018, July 12). Complexity Analysis on the Aerodynamic Performance of the
Mega High-Speed Train Caused by the Wind Barrier on the Embankment. Retrieved from
Hindawi: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/complexity/2018/7130532/
Hooper, J. (2013, July 25). Spanish train crash: automatic braking on notorious curve failed to
engage. Retrieved from The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/25/santiago-train-derailment-speed-safety
Poulton, S. (2016, December 12). Overcoming Operational Inertia. Retrieved from Art Plus
Marketing: https://artplusmarketing.com/overcoming-operational-inertia-8a52bc25702b
Stewart, J. (2014, November 18). Vacuum trains: a high-speed pipe dream? Retrieved from BBC
Future: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20120601-high-speed-pipedreams
Woodford, C. (2020, January 9). Center of gravity. Retrieved from Explain That Stuff:
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/center-of-gravity.html