The target value of the expected operating speed of the prototype vehicle is greater than 600km/h, which will lay the foundation for the long-term combination of vacuum pipeline technology to break through the speed value above 1000km/h——
my country's "super high-speed rail" leaves the laboratory
The prototype car, which looks exactly like the front of a high-speed railway, has no wheels but is magnetically suspended on the track test line, starts smoothly and moves forward slowly.
On January 13, the world's first high-temperature superconducting high-speed maglev engineering prototype and test line using the original technology of Southwest Jiaotong University was officially opened in Chengdu, Sichuan.
The sample car runs quietly and smoothly. As the first passengers, the guests who participated in the opening ceremony laughed and said that what they experienced was "a feeling of no feeling."
The official opening of the prototype vehicle and test line marks a breakthrough in the engineering research of my country's high-temperature superconducting and high-speed maglev, and it has the conditions for engineering test demonstration.
The target value of the prototype vehicle's expected operating speed is greater than 600km/h, which will lay the foundation for the long-term combination of vacuum pipeline technology to break through to the speed value above 1000km/h.
For rail transit, this is an important milestone-the "super high-speed rail" of "vacuum pipeline + high-temperature superconducting magnetic levitation" finally left the laboratory and entered the stage of engineering testing.
The ideal new vehicle
After the prototype car stopped, it floated quietly above the track with a gap of about 10 mm.
With a hard push, the car body weighing more than ten tons actually moved.
"It floats in a static state, and there is no frictional resistance between it and the track, which is why it can run fast." said Deng Zigang, a professor at Southwest Jiaotong University.
It is understood that the "high temperature" in high temperature superconductors is relative to low temperature superconductors, and its working temperature is minus 196 degrees Celsius.
A superconductor is installed at the bottom of the prototype car, and the track is a permanent magnet. When the liquid nitrogen drops the temperature to minus 196 degrees Celsius, the resistance of the superconductor disappears, and the current generates a strong magnetic field in the superconductor, and the car body naturally floats.
The magnetic levitation technology also has the "pinning" feature of "if you leave and never leave", no matter which direction force is applied to the vehicle, the system can automatically "pull back" the car body.
"Just like a nail stuck on a wooden board, the train can only run along the track, and it can be said that it will never derail." said Wu Zili, a senior engineer at Southwest Jiaotong University Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Nitrogen is the main component of air, and liquid nitrogen is cheap to obtain.
The "pinning" feature of this technology makes the suspension and guidance do not require active control or vehicle power supply, and the system is relatively simple.
The unique "pinning force" of the high-temperature superconductor can not only ensure the safe operation of the vehicle, but also maintain the stability of the vehicle body up and down, achieving stability that is difficult for any other vehicle.
"It can be said that the high-temperature superconducting maglev transportation technology with the characteristics of self-suspension, self-direction, and self-stabilization is a new standard rail transportation method facing future development and broad application prospects." said Yang Dan, president of Southwest Jiaotong University. Transportation technology has the advantages of simple structure, energy saving, no chemical and noise pollution, safety and comfort, and low operating cost. It is an ideal new rail transportation tool, suitable for a variety of speed domains, especially for high-speed and ultra-high-speed line operation.
Take a critical step in engineering applications
As of 2020, my country's high-speed rail operating mileage will reach 37,900 kilometers, and the Fuxing EMU technology, which runs at 350 kilometers per hour, will continue to lead the world.
Higher speed has always been the unstoppable pursuit of Chinese scientists.
Southwest Jiaotong University began the development of maglev technology in the 1980s. In 1997, it was approved by the National 863 Project "High Temperature Superconducting Magnetic Levitation Experimental Vehicle" to formally conduct research on high temperature superconducting maglev vehicles.
In early 2001, the world's first manned high-temperature superconducting magnetic levitation experimental vehicle "Century" developed by the school made its debut at the "863 Program 15th Anniversary Exhibition" held in Beijing, which attracted widespread attention.
"A small car, with a maximum suspended weight of 700 kg, can only take two people, but it has caused a sensation across the country." Zhang Weihua, chief professor of Southwest Jiaotong University, said that this "world's first" is a rain-proof color bar. It is too hard to develop in a temporary work shed built with cloth.
In 2004, Southwest Jiaotong University proposed an ultra-high-speed, high-temperature superconducting maglev transportation system plan for 600km/h and above, which was affirmed by more than 50 experts including 12 academicians. Since then, the engineering of high-temperature superconducting maglev vehicles has begun. Exploration.
In a blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed. Southwest Jiaotong University has broken through a series of theoretical and technical problems. It has formed advantages and foundations in the basic theoretical research and key technological innovation of high-temperature superconducting maglev, and has the conditions for engineering.
In 2020, Southwest Jiaotong University, CRRC, China Railway and other units will collaborate to tackle key problems and jointly carry out research on high-temperature superconducting maglev transportation engineering prototypes and test lines, and build a high-temperature superconducting high-speed maglev transportation system integrated technology system.
"After more than half a year of hard work, the project team completed the R&D and manufacturing of the prototype vehicle and the construction of the test line, and carried out the suspension operation test, marking the key step of the high-temperature superconducting maglev technology from the principle and mechanism verification to the engineering application. ." said Wu Shengquan, deputy general manager of CRRC Tangshan Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.
Trigger disruptive changes in rail transit
"The high-temperature superconducting high-speed maglev test line displayed this time is the world's first engineered 1:1 test line." Deng Zigang introduced at the site that the length of the verification section is 165 meters and the construction area is about 1,250 square meters.
The main contents of the project include: engineering prototype of high temperature superconducting magnetic levitation principle, suspension system, traction braking system, transportation control system, offline civil engineering and ancillary engineering, as well as joint debugging and joint test and comprehensive performance testing system of the entire system engineering.
The completion of the high-temperature superconducting high-speed maglev transportation engineering prototype and test line project is an important implementation step to promote the engineering of the high-temperature superconducting high-speed maglev train technology.
The project can realize the basic functions of levitation, guidance, traction and braking of the high-temperature superconducting high-speed maglev prototype, as well as the joint debugging and joint test of the entire system engineering, and meet the later research test.
It is reported that the prototype and test line, combined with the maglev train model test bed in the Southwest Jiaotong University, can verify the high-speed superconducting maglev train and long-term operational reliability, which is of great significance for technology transformation, engineering demonstration, and subject construction.
"The test line is very critical. It can help the vehicle move from the laboratory to the engineering application, to verify and study some key technologies and key issues. All functions and components of the test vehicle are consistent with future practical applications. The next step may be Find a place to land and implement it. It may be necessary to build a 30 to 50 km test line to achieve a higher speed test." Deng Zigang said.
"This technology is planned to be engineered in the atmospheric environment first, and is expected to create a new record of land transportation speed." Yang Dan said that the next step is to combine the future vacuum pipeline technology to develop an integrated transportation system that fills the gap in land transportation and air transportation speed. , Will lay the foundation for a long-term breakthrough in speed values above 1000km/h, thereby building a new model of land transportation, and triggering forward-looking and disruptive changes in the development of rail transportation.
(Our reporter Zhou Hongshuang and Li Xiaodong)