Research and Development

Technological innovation is the impetus of survival and development for the high-tech industry. As the prop unit of both the National Engineering Research Center for Power Automation (NERC) and the National Engineering Research Center for Electric Power System Automation-Control and Economic Operation (NERC-EPSACEO), NARI attaches much importance to technological innovation. It has gathered many elites of well-known experts and scholars led by two academicians of the Chinese Engineering Academy, Xue Yusheng and Shen Guorong, to set up NARI's technology development system.

NARI's technology development system consists of a three-level R&D organization: NARI's R&D center, R&D department of each professional division, and technology renovation group of the manufacturing center. The R&D Center not only plays its supporting role for the technology consultation committee, National Engineering Research Center of Power Automation and postdoctoral workstation, but also studies advance subjects by keeping pace with the world latest trend in power system scientific research. The R&D department of each professional division mainly undertakes the job of improving existing products and designing new products within its business scope according to requirements from customers and markets. The responsibilities of the technology renovation group of the manufacturing center involve continuous improvement on the processing technique, product structure and appearance, and work flow to enhance product quality and production efficiency. On different levels and in different cycles, the three-level R&D system of NARI forms a new technology innovation chain meeting the requirements both in the near future and for long-term development.

NARI has set up its hierarchical distributed R&D environment linked by high-speed computer network on the area of 20,000 square meters. In recent years investment has been made in establishing the Power System Real-time Digital Simulator System, Step-in Type Environment Testing System, Large-scale Digital Integrated Circuit Testing System and Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory. Among them two have passed the national approval as "China's Laboratories" for their complete experimental environments for the R&D of power system automation.

Aiming at advanced international level, and led by market demands, NARI is committed to the R&D of high-tech products with independent intellectual rights. At each phase of its technology development system, NARI keeps on pursuing perfection and excellence. Moreover, it ensures over 8% of its annual sales income to be invested in the R&D, which greatly enhances coordinated development of both scientific research and industrial production.

So far NARI has completed more than 300 R&D programs with 288 of them acquired significant R&D achievements. NARI achieved 39 National Science & Technology Awards, including 2 first-class and 8 second-class National Science & Technology Progress Awards, 205 Provincial and Ministerial Science & Technology Awards, 47 patents, and 47 copyrights for computer software packages.

As a national key comprehensive scientific research institute and industrialization base on theoretical research, application of new technologies and development of new products in the field of electric power system, NARI has obtained scores of R&D achievements with independent intellectual property rights, and some of them reach the international advanced level. The CCEBC (Complementary-Cluster Energy-Barrier Criterion) theory created by Dr. Xue Yusheng (Academician of the Chinese Engineering Academy) initiates the theoretical research of the non-autonomous system motion stability, while his invention of EEAC (Extended Equal Area Criterion) was a big breakthrough on analyzing power system transient stability and preventive control. EEAC is awarded first prize of the National Scientific and Technology Progress Award, and its software package is widely used in the power networks of China. Up to October 2002, the commercial software package of EEAC has been exported to 20 large-scale power companies and universities in France, USA, Canada, Finland, Ireland, South Korea, Australia and other countries and regions. The Deviation of Power Frequency Component (DPFC) (Second Prize of the National Invention Award) and discrimination principle of out-of-step by tracing impedance variation (Second Prize of the National Invention Award) invented by Mr. Shen Guorong (Academician of the Chinese Engineering Academy) resolved the long-standing problem that obsessed the electric power system and brought forth new ideas to power system relay protection theory. With the Deviation of Power Frequency Component theory and 10 patents as core technologies, NARI has developed 12 series and nearly 60 microprocessor-based protection devices, which are widely used in the protection of 500kV-35kV transmission lines, generators, and transformers. In addition, NARI has scored many number ones in China such as: the first set of real-time power system dispatch automation system, the first set of computer monitoring system for large-scale hydro power plants, the first set of closed-loop distributive monitoring system for thermal power plants, the first set of substation Automation System, the first set of distribution automation system, the first set of power market technical supporting system, the first set of reservoir dispatch automation system for hydro power plant, the first set of microprocessor-based excitation adjusting system, the first set of water turbine microprocessor-based governor system and the first set of dams security monitoring system, etc.

At present, Nanjing Automation Research Institute (NARI Group Corporation) is keeping pace with the international advanced level in the fields of power system relay protection, power system stability analysis and control, power system dispatch, substation automation, hydro power plant and cascade dispatch automation, power market technical support system, power metering & billing system, supervisory control system of city railway power supply, hydrological telemetering and environmental monitoring, generator electric control and power electronics technology, dam safety monitoring, IT for power enterprises, power system communication, rural power network automation, distribution automation, thermal power plant control, supervisory control of civic and environmental protection, etc.