Korea+Railroad+Research+Institute
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2013 International Forum on Eco-Friendly Vehicle and System
Leaders in transportation technology gathered at KAIST to discuss commercialization & standardization and to encourage the exchange of research progress, strategy, and future initiatives in transportation technology.
The Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST hosted the 2013 International Forum on Eco-friendly Vehicles and Systems (IFEV) in Fusion Hall of the KAIST Institute Building from October 21 to 22.
About 50 leaders in the field of future transportation from academic institutes and industries including Dr. Soon-Man Hong, President of Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI), Dr. Kwang-Hee Nam, Professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), and Mr. Mike Schagrin, the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Manager of the US Department of Transportation (retired) participated in the 4th annual IFEV.
The commercialization & standardization session and a technical session were followed by the plenary meeting of the forum.
Dr. Hong, the keynote speaker, introduced the High Capacity Double Deck High Speed Train, Near Surface Subway System, and Urban Railway System with Wireless Power Transfer Technology under the title “Korea’s Policy and Technology Initiative for Enhancing Green Transport Systems.”
Dr. Kwang-Hee Nam presented “Electric Vehicle Trends & the POSTECH E-Car Research Center Power Train Design,” followed by Mr. Mike Schagrin who spoke about “Going Green with Connected Automation.”
Dr. Omer C. Onar from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) shared recent research on “ORNL Development in Stationary and Dynamic Wireless Charging.”
In the commercialization session, Faical Turki of Vahle, Germany, presented “Wireless Inductive Battery Chargers,” and Professor Kazuyuki Ouchi from Tokyo University presented “Wind Challenger, the Next Generation Hybrid Vessels.”
In the technical session, presentations and discussions were performed on future ground vehicles and railroad technology, intelligent transportation systems and strategy, and policy on eco-friendly vehicle technology, including Professor In-Soo Suh of the Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST who presented on “Armadillo-T: 4WD Micro Electric EV with a Foldable Body Concept.”
On the second day of IFEV 2013, representatives of the European Union’s Safe and Green Road Vehicles (SAGE) consortium discussed connectivity in road transportation as a means of improving safety, efficiency and convenience in future safe and green vehicles with collaboration from Korean transportation organizations such as the Korea Transport Institute and Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.
Professor Suh, who organized the forum, said, “This forum will serve as an excellent opportunity to discuss and share R&BD progress in the green transportation field. “Details can be found at http://gt.kaist.ac.kr/ifev2013/.
2013.11.15 View 11125 -
KAIST Develops Wireless Power Transfer Technology for High Capacity Transit
KAIST and the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) have developed a wireless power transfer technology that can be applied to high capacity transportation systems such as railways, harbor freight, and airport transportation and logistics. The technology supplies 60 kHz and 180 kW of power remotely to transport vehicles at a stable, constant rate.
KAIST and KRRI successfully showcased the wireless power transfer technology to the public on February 13, 2013 by testing it on the railroad tracks at Osong Station in Korea. Originally, this technology was developed as part of an electric vehicle system introduced by KAIST in 2011 known as the On-line Electric Vehicle (OLEV).
OLEV does not need to be parked at a charging station to have a fully powered battery. It gets charged while running, idling, and parking, enabling a reduction in size of the reserve battery down to one-fifth of the battery on board a regular electric car. The initial models of OLEV, a bus and a tram, receive 20 kHz and 100 kW power at an 85% transmission efficiency rate while maintaining a 20cm air gap between the underbody of vehicle and the road surface. OLEV complies with the national and international standards of 62.5 mG, a safety net for electromagnetic fields. In July 2013, for the first time since its development, OLEV will run on a regular road, an inner city route in the city of Gumi, requiring 40 minutes of driving each way.
Today’s technology demonstration offers further support that OLEV can be utilized for large-scale systems. Professor Dong-Ho Cho, Director of Center for Wireless Power Transfer Technology Business Development at KAIST, explained the recent improvements to OLEV:
“We have greatly improved the OLEV technology from the early development stage by increasing its power transmission density by more than three times. The size and weight of the power pickup modules have been reduced as well. We were able to cut down the production costs for major OLEV components, the power supply, and the pickup system, and in turn, OLEV is one step closer to being commercialized.”
If trains receive power wirelessly, the costs of railway wear and tear will be dramatically reduced. There will be no power rails, including electrical poles, required for the establishment of a railway system, and accordingly, lesser space will be needed. Tunnels will be built on a smaller scale, lowering construction costs. In addition, it will be helpful to overcome major obstacles that discourage the construction of high speed railway systems such as noise levels and problems in connecting pantograph and power rails.
KAIST and KRRI plan to apply the wireless power transfer technology to trams in May and high speed trains in September.
2013.03.19 View 11985 -
Cho Cheon Shik Graduate School of Green Transportation Initiated
KAIST established the Graduate School of Green Transportation in efforts to participate actively in the green transportation market and train experts in the field.
The opening ceremony was conducted in the KI building with President of KAIST Seo Nam Pyo and other dignitaries from Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Korea Rail Network Authority, Korea Airports Corporation, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Land, Transport and Maritime Experts Training Institute, Seoul Development Institute, LG Innotech, Hyundai Rotem, and other major companies in the field of transportation attending.
The graduate school was founded with funding from donation made by Chairman Cho Cheon Shik. Developer of OLEV Professor Cho Dong Ho is the dean of the school and 16 other professors are a part of the school.
Courses offered include ‘Transportation Technology’ and ‘Transportation management’ and will focus mostly on allowing students to be a part of the graduate school with flexibility.
In terms of research there is the OLEV and mobile harbor and research will be done on electric and electronics, mechanics, materials, aeronautics, maritime, construction, environment, and etc. and will be an interdisciplinary research.
A memorandum of understanding was signed by the companies mentioned above which has now paved the way for experts to be trained and thus upgrade the level of technology in the field of green transportation.
Professor Seo of KAIST commented, ‘Korea is ranked top 10 in the world for greenhouse gas emissions and it has become hard to avoid global pressure. The results of researched performed at KAIST will allow Korea to form a green, sustainable society leading in the field of green transportation and dominate the market.
2011.02.23 View 14681