Ultra-High Speed
The World's Fastest Testing Platform
High-speed Rail Simulation Capable of Reaching 600 km/h
Did you know that a high-speed train designed for 300 km/h must undergo comprehensive testing at speeds of at least 400 km/h before being put into operation? This process involves analyzing data to assess vehicle stability, passenger comfort, and other factors. In China, whether it's subways, CRH trains, or high-speed trains, these vehicles all undergo experimental development at the State Key Laboratory of Traction Power at Southwest Jiaotong University before they hit the "front lines" for service. This lab is also the world's second and Asia's first rolling vibration test bench for railway vehicles (four-axle), capable of simulating speeds up to 600 km/h, setting a world record for the highest speed in bench-based running simulations for railway vehicles.
On this roaring test bench, a passenger electric locomotive designed for speeds of 200 km/h is currently undergoing testing.
The reporter observed that the vehicle body is fixed above the suspension beam, while the wheels are adjusted to the desired test speed and make contact with the track. "A train can, of course, be tested on actual tracks, but the costs would be significantly higher, and there would be accompanying risks. On this platform, because the vehicle body is fixed, through big data analysis, we can predict various scenarios," explained Wang Siming. This laboratory plays an irreplaceable role in the innovative development of China's high-speed train sets, from theoretical analysis and experimental verification to follow-up tests.
From "Floating" Iron Balls to "Levitating" 4-Ton Trains
The Budding and Blossoming of Maglev Technology in Chengdu
The maglev train is a significant technological invention of the 20th century. Scientists applied "magnetic levitation" to the railway transportation system, enabling trains to run completely detached from the tracks and suspended in the air, becoming trains that "float" in the air—this is the "maglev train." As early as 1988, the Jiaotong Maglev Team had already completed a single-degree-of-freedom iron ball levitation experiment, gaining an essential understanding of the principle of electromagnetic suspension.
Professor Lian Jisan, now 82 years old, is a renowned expert in the field of maglev in China. As a witness to that "iron ball levitation experiment," he recalled the early days of research with emotion: "An iron ball weighs only a few dozen grams, and the small ball only floats 8 to 10 millimeters in the air. This may seem insignificant, but the current and magnetic force fluctuate. To maintain a relatively stable levitation of the iron ball, a control system must constantly adjust."
And it was from this "floating" iron ball that Southwest Jiaotong University took its first step in tackling the challenges of maglev transportation.
In October 1994, the research team led by Professor Lian Jisan successfully developed China's first 4-ton maglev vehicle capable of carrying passengers and its test track, achieving stable levitation and operation of the system. This was China's first breakthrough in the field of maglev trains, marking the beginning of China's possession of maglev train technology with independent intellectual property rights.
Since then, Southwest Jiaotong University officially initiated engineering research on maglev trains. In 2001, construction began on the 430-meter-long Qingcheng Mountain Maglev Train Engineering Test Line. On April 30, 2006, China's maglev transportation research made another breakthrough at Southwest Jiaotong University: the "Qingcheng Mountain Low-to-Medium Speed Maglev Train Engineering Experimental Line" with a three-suspension frame structure was successfully jointly tested, and a low-to-medium speed maglev train with independent intellectual property rights was officially tested and operated in Chengdu. This marked the preliminary mastery of maglev train system design technology by Southwest Jiaotong University, as well as the verification and preliminary mastery of key technologies for low-to-medium speed maglev transportation systems.