Abstract
The power required for propulsion of a vehicle in an enclosed guideway depends not only on the density of the medium, the shape and speed of the vehicle, the blockage ration, the drag of the suspension and the length of the tube, but also on the manner in which the thrust is generated, on the energy conversion efficiency of the propulsion mechanism, and on the amplitude of the disturbances that are induced in the far field by the vehicle itself and by its thrust generator. Equations governing the flow field are developed and discussed.