Traction Power State Key Laboratory is attached to Southwest Jiaotong University， with Academician Liu Youmei as director of its Scientific Committee, and Professor Zhang Weihua as director. It was approved to establish in 1989 and was given the honor of a first-class State Key Laboratory by the government in 2003 and 2008 successively. In 2006, it achieved the certification and authorization issued by CNAL. The first-level discipline “Transportation Engineering” in which it is mainly involved is a state key discipline, was ranked first twice in the national discipline evaluation by the CADGEDC in 2003 and 2008.
With railway playing a significant role for the nation’s economy, technology concerning the railway speed-raising, high-speed and heavy loading trains has become the core for the railway development. Based on the railway, urban metro, magnetic levitation train and other modern track vehicles, the laboratory focuses its study in 6 areas, i.e., rail vehicle design theory and structural reliability; vehicle coupled system dynamics and control; magnetic levitation train technology (ultra high speed evacuated tube train included); Tribology theory and application; traction power supply, transmission and control; measurement and test technology.
With the vigorous support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Railways and Southwest Jiaotong University, the laboratory has made remarkable achievements with respect to test platform construction. It has developed on its own a whole set of test facilities including: roller test rig, parameter measuring stand for vehicles, multi-channel fatigue test stand, vehicle virtual prototype design platform（VirtualMBS）, train-track dynamic simulation and security detection system, wireless detection system, pantograph/catenary hybrid simulation stand and other important equipments. Most of these facilities are internationally advanced or even world-leading. The laboratory also purchased a wide range of material test machines and software, involving with mechanics, electronics, measurement and other industries, strengthening further its equipment capacity.
The laboratory has a high-qualified staff, including two academicians, Prof. Shen Zhiyun and Prof. Qian Qingquan, who contributed a lot to the institute’s development as its first and second director respectively, and many young and middle-aged scientists, headed by Prof. Zhang Weihua, working hard as the backbone of the unit. The whole group is perfect in the combination of its members’ age and knowledge structure, stuff cooperation and dedication to the scientific development.
Its regular staff are 60, including 42 professors (researchers included), 14 associate professors (vice researchers and senior engineers included), and 31 PhD student supervisors. There are 3 distinguished professors under the Changjiang Scholar Plan, 4 recipients of the National Excellent Youth Funds and 12 recipients of the Education Funds for Trans-Century or New Century Talents. In addition, there are one outstanding contribution expert of state level and twelve of provincial and ministerial level. The two Innovative groups, which are respectively approved by the National Natural Science Foundation and by the Ministry of Education, comprise integral parts of the laboratory.
In recent years, the laboratory has undertaken a series of major research projects including the project “Basic Research on Key Technology for High Speed Train Safety Service” under the national “973”plan, and the subject “High Speed Train Life Service and Reliability Design” under the national “863”plan, the National Technology Support Project “Key Technology and Equipment Development of High Speed Train”, the project “High Speed EMU Bogie Technology” funded by the Ministry of Railways, and the scientific test on Beijing-Tianjin intercity rail line named “Study on High Speed Train Coupling System”. Various science and technology awards have been granted for its research achievements, among which there are 2 first prizes and 2 second prizes for the “National Science-Technology Progress”; 1 second prize for the “Natural Science Founds”; 5 first prizes for “Ministerial Science-Technology Progress/Natural Science”, and 1 International Thesis Awards.
The laboratory pays attention to improve graduate students’ ability through practice. It aims to construct a training system for innovative talents relying on the laboratory as a research platform and railway enterprises as practice bases. All these efforts resulted in an improved training quality. It won 2 first prizes for the “National Teaching Achievements”. The title of “One Hundred National Excellent Theses” has been awarded to 4 doctorate theses, and one of its doctoral students won the first “China Youth Science and Technology Innovation Award”, the graduate class of Grade 2005 was awarded the title "National Advanced class" by the Ministry of Education.
Based on the principle — open, exchangeable, cooperative, and competitive, the organization maintains ongoing academic exchanges with foreign research institutes, from where lots of experts had been invited to give lectures. It also actively participates in domestic and international conferences and seminars, especially giving interest to such international conferences as “ International Symposium of Vehicle System Dynamics”, “International Wheelset Congress”, “International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/Wheel”, and “World Tribology Congress”.
Since 2001, the institute has been involved with the organization of 2 international and 5 domestic conferences as an organizer, and 1 international conference as a co-organizer. 12 international programs have been completed, and some of its staff members have been elected five times as editors for international academic journals.
Having an eye on the forefront of international technology, and focusing on the international trend for the railway development, the laboratory has made its decision to construct a research platform for the modernization of traffic equipments. In the future, it will center on the high speed and heavy loading trains to carry out its investigation in terms of basic theory research, key technology innovation, and system integration innovation. By doing so, it will supply basic theory and innovative technology for the railway traffic progress. The institute will strive to establish a world-leading platform, undertake more major projects, and make greater achievements, cultivating a highly qualified team and developing itself into a research center as well as a talent training base. Traction Power State Key Laboratory with a sustainable creative capability will surely become an integral part in the national innovation system.
Address: 111, Section 1 North Second Ring Road, Chengdu, P.R. China
Postal code: 610031
Supporting institution: Southwest Jiaotong University
Tel: +86 28 87600867, 87600869
Fax: +86 28 87600868
E-mail: qybg@home.swjtu.edu.cn
Internet: http://www.tplswjtu.com
Contact: Liu Lijuan