Professor Gu Wei, with his team from Transportation Industry Key Laboratory of Shipping Technology and Control Engineering at Shanghai Maritime University, has won first prize of Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award. The prize was awarded at the Shanghai Science and Technology Awards Conference held on March 22nd. The team successfully developed an electric propulsion ship control technology, which in recent years has been applied in a large number of high-end, energy-saving and environment-friendly vessels, including China’s first electric passenger ferry ship to sail on a plateau lake, its first large electric cruise ship to sail the Yangtze River, and its first batch electric marine vessels to be exported. The technology gives the vessels an advanced and flexible “Chinese Core”, which enables them to carry out various tasks in waterways and on the vast ocean.
As a hotspot of international research, the technology of “power control, power station control and heading control technology and application for electric propulsion vessels” developed by Professor Gu Wei’s research team not only reaches internationally advanced level, but also fills a gap in many domestic intelligent control technologies. It is of strategic significance to making breakthroughs in the application of self-developed core equipment in high-tech ships, improving the design and manufacturing capabilities of oceanic engineering equipment in China, and transforming China from a major shipbuilding country to a leading shipbuilding power.
Technology: aiming at the internationally advanced level and achieving a new breakthrough in domestic electric propulsion technology
It is understood that as the technical crowning jewel of the shipbuilding industry, electric propulsion ships have a complicated structure and complicated control. Ten years ago, almost all electric propulsion ships built in China adopted the complete control system of large foreign companies. This situation severely restricted the development of China's shipbuilding industry. Amidst the technical challenges for the industrial upgrading of the world's largest shipbuilding country, the control technology of electric propulsion ship has always been one of the main directions of China's scientific and technological research and industrial innovation.
Professor Gu Wei, head of Transportation Industry Key Laboratory of Shipping Technology and Control Engineering, said that since 2005, with funding from China’s 863 Program, the National Marine Equipment R&D Program, and 11 major scientific research projects under Ministry of Communications and Shanghai Municipal Government, Shanghai Maritime University and CSIC No. 704 branch are aiming at the world's most advanced electric propulsion ship technology, investing 290 million yuan in the development of internationally advanced 10MW high-power electric propulsion test platform and power station pilot test platform, and became the first to develop an integrated control system and a complete product set for electric propulsion ships in China.
“Similar to the engine of a car, the ship's power propulsion system is the 'heart' of the ship. Compared with the traditional diesel engine, steam turbine, gas turbine and other power sources, the new type of electric power propulsion has advantages in energy efficiency, vibration and noise reduction, ship handling performance, better access to port and emergency treatment and many other significant advantages." Professor Gu Wei explained that electric propulsion technology has greatly improved the reliability and safety of marine power plants, and has become an important direction for the world's shipbuilding industry. It is also more in line with the "harsh" demands of high-end ships represented by marine engineering vessels, scientific research vessels, new fishing vessels, and luxury cruise ships.
The electric propulsion integrated control system developed by the research team is the core system of electric propulsion ships. The system is based on propulsion controller, power manager and heading controller, and is built as a structured, modular and multi-interfaced structural framework, and as an intelligent and practical ship control software and hardware network system, it meets the general needs of different types of electric propulsion vessels for ship power control, power station control and heading control, as well as special requirements of large-scale cruise ships, pipelaying vessels and other electric propulsion ships.
R&D: Dedicated to building a ship electric propulsion research platform
Transportation Industry Key Laboratory of Shipping Technology and Control Engineering at Shanghai Maritime University was established in 1999. It is one of the first 17 key laboratories established by the Ministry of Communications. It now has 33 permanent researchers. The laboratory has experimental platforms such as ship electric propulsion and high-power transmission control. It provides an experimental and scientific research platform for undertaking major scientific research projects in the transportation field, solving major shipping technology problems, and cultivating and gathering high-level transportation technology talents.
Since its establishment, the key laboratory has received tremendous support from our school and other organizations. For more than ten years, the key laboratory has undertaken hundreds of research projects with the country, the Ministry of Communications, Shanghai Municipal Government and port and shipping enterprises, and has won many provincial and ministerial-level science and technology awards, including Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Awards, 1 Yunnan Technology Invention Award, 1 Shanghai Science and Technology Invention Award, and 1 China Science and Technology Progress Award.
At present, the research team's "Electric Propulsion Ship Power Control, Power Station Control and Heading Control Technology and Application" project results in 8 authorized patents (5 invention patents) and 2 software copyrights, 9 invention patents including 1 foreign patent, the leading role in the development of China's only national standard for ship electric propulsion system "GB/T 13030-2009 Ship Electric Propulsion System Technical Conditions."
The results of patent search show that the electric propulsion ship controller developed by the project team is superior to similar products at home and abroad in terms of comprehensive performance. In terms of technical indicators such as high efficiency of power control, stability of power station control, and accuracy of heading control, it meets or exceeds the technical standards of large foreign companies.
The Ministry of Communications and China Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group organized project evaluation meeting and product identification appraisal meeting for four times. Academician Pan Jingfu, as the leader of expert evaluation team, believes that the comprehensive control technology of electric propulsion ship developed by the project team has reached internationally advanced level, and a number of intelligent control technologies have filled the gaps in the domestic arena. China's first electric propulsion passenger ferry for plateau lakes, the first large-size electric propulsion Yangtze River cruise ship, and the first batch of export electric power propulsion marine vessels have been successfully developed, and have been highly praised by domestic and foreign experts.
Application: The project results in many domestic firsts
Since 2008, the application of the project has broken the monopoly of foreign technology and set a number of domestic firsts: the first electric propulsion sweeping ship “Century Light” and the first electric propulsion passenger ferries in the plateau lake area, solving the pollution problem of Yunnan Dianchi lake; the first large-size electric propulsion Yangtze River cruise ship, solving the absence of high-end cruise ships after the completion of the Three Gorges Dam project.
After 2011, the first electric propulsion pipelaying vessel and scientific research vessel were launched successively. The project results were applied into the field of large-size electric propulsion marine vessels, and contributed to the construction of a number of “national heavyweights” such as Xiang-Yang-Hong No. 18 scientific research survey ship.
In the past three years, the products developed by the project have repeatedly beat counterparts from large foreign companies in the market competition and have been exported overseas. Our exports of electric propulsion ships to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America are well received by ship owners in countries such as Norway and the United Kingdom. 103 export orders have been completed, achieving a new breakthrough in the export of high-end ships in China.
In 2012, the results of the project were listed as key projects for the promotion of science and technology projects by the Ministry of Communications. In the past three years, the project undertaker has participated in the construction of 51 large-size electric propulsion marine vessels, and 309 electric propulsion inland river vessels, occupying more than 60% of the domestic market share of electric propulsion ship electronic control systems, with an added output value of 470 million yuan and foreign exchange earning 13.18 million US dollars. The technical standards and prototype products of the project have led the technological progress of the industry, and the results have been promoted and applied by nearly 20 enterprises. The localization integration of the electric propulsion ship control system has been realized, which has elevated China's electric propulsion ship building to the world advanced level, and has made positive contributions to the construction of various types of ships for China's navy force.
