High school students bring their research projects into the high-speed rail simulation cockpit: From 1 to 1.1, there is also scientific research value
2024-08-17
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A Fuxing high-speed train is running from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Hangzhou East Railway Station. How to arrange the running speed to minimize the energy consumption of the high-speed train? In the Rail Transit Intelligent Operation Laboratory of the School of Transportation of Tongji University, 10 first-year high school students sat in the high-speed train simulation cab, acting as high-speed train drivers and "driving" the train on the Shanghai-Hangzhou Intercity High-speed Railway to explore how to solve this problem.
Applying the physics formulas learned in middle school classrooms to real-life situations to solve practical problems is the first challenge that the Youth Science Innovation Practice Station of the School of Transportation of Tongji University brings to these high school students.
During the summer vacation, these 10 first-year high school students will complete the research project "Trade-off Analysis of High-speed Railway Speed Increase and Energy Consumption Reduction" based on immersive virtual-real integration. From theoretical learning to virtual simulation driving experiments, and then to practical driving simulation experiments, it has broken the inherent cognition of high school students about scientific exploration: "It turns out that scientific research is not all about exploring major breakthroughs from 0 to 1. If we can provide data references for reducing high-speed rail energy consumption and improving passenger travel convenience and comfort through simulation and comparative experiments, it is also valuable to go from 1 to 1.1."
Find the meaning of mathematical and chemical formulas in life
"What forces are acting on a speeding high-speed train? Which of these forces are doing work for it?" In the first class of the research project, Wang Fangsheng, an associate researcher at the School of Transportation of Tongji University, took the lead in raising a mechanics question. Force analysis and work analysis are common question types in high school physics classes. "Are these forces always doing work, such as gravity and traction?" "Are these forces constant, such as air resistance and friction?" Looking at the high-speed train simulation cab in front of them, several high school students hesitated: "We have learned this knowledge in high school physics, geography and other classes, but why is it so complicated to apply it in real life?"
Wang Fangsheng has an ulterior motive in asking these small questions to stimulate discussion. "This is to remind students that a lot of knowledge learned in class is actually the basis for solving practical problems, and is also the starting point for scientific research exploration and innovation. The scientific principles, mathematical logic and thinking methods learned in middle school classes are all key tools for solving practical problems."
Wang Zihan, a freshman at Xuhui Middle School, has always had a strong interest in engineering and took courses related to transportation simulation driving in high school. However, her first practical class was somewhat "imperfect". She recorded the simulated driving startup steps explained by teacher Wang Fangsheng word for word, but when she sat in the driver's seat and followed the steps step by step, the "train" did not move. "It turns out that the scene is different, and the driver needs to adjust the startup plan according to the actual situation." This taught Wang Zihan a lesson that practice is much more complicated than the theory in the book. In addition to remembering the relevant mathematical, physical and chemical formulas, it is also necessary to formulate targeted solutions in combination with the complex and changeable actual environment.
Small changes that make life better are also the value of scientific research
These high school students usually feel a little intimidated when they enter the laboratory for the first time to conduct scientific research. However, as the research progresses, they often find the passion to continue advancing their research from the questions they have.
Zhou Zeru found it very interesting to operate the high-speed rail simulation driving system, but he felt a little unconfident when he thought about writing a project report. He didn't know whether his research project could produce "earth-shaking" results. However, as the research progressed, Zhou Zeru had many wonderful ideas: "The current speed limit of high-speed trains is 350 kilometers per hour. If the speed limit is changed to 250 kilometers per hour, what impact will it have on the running time and energy consumption of high-speed trains?" As long as there are new ideas, teacher Wang Fangsheng encourages students to bravely practice and demonstrate them in the high-speed rail simulation driving experiment.
"Our research topics can neither rapidly increase the speed of high-speed rail operations nor significantly improve the current status of high-speed rail operations. What is the meaning of scientific research?" Faced with the doubts of high school students, Professor Hong Ling, Executive Deputy Director of the Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education of Tongji University and Executive Deputy Director of the Shanghai Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Transportation Engineering, bluntly stated that scientific research not only has major theoretical breakthroughs from 0 to 1, but also solid explorations that meet the needs of engineering practice and use experimental conclusions to provide reference for relevant departments. These are the values of continuous exploration by scientific researchers.
Research topic helps high school students learn life experience
Relying on the teaching and scientific research resources of the first-class discipline of transportation engineering, Tongji University's Transportation Engineering Practice Station has opened engineering innovation practice courses for high school students for six consecutive years, initially exploring the "scientific research-popular science" collaborative innovation model to cultivate students' interest from scientific problems to scientific research.
Wang Zihan wanted to study the impact of weather factors on the speed and energy consumption of high-speed trains. She found that unlike the ideal experimental data in textbooks, in real life, high-speed trains are often affected by various factors such as weather, terrain and even driving areas during operation. It is not so easy to make a set of research that can be applied in real life. "I tried my best to control the variables, but there were always unexpected situations during each experiment, and the measured data were inconsistent every time. I almost collapsed after the first few experiments." However, as the research progressed, she found that she had to face up to the errors in some experimental factors in order to continue the experiment.
“Letting high school students participate in project practice is not only to convey the most advanced scientific concepts, but more importantly, to convey a scientific research way of thinking. Project exploration based on real life requires not only book theories, but also the lesson of life experience.” The students’ little progress made Hong Ling see the significance of the “scientific research-popular science” collaborative innovation implementation path from scientific research projects to innovative research projects for middle school students.
Author: Zhang Peng
Text: Zhang Peng Photo: Zhang Peng Editor: Zhang Feiya Editor-in-chief: Fan Liping
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