In the year 2000, Shanghai Kaiquan invested 15 million yuan to establish an enterprise technology center, which was officially recognized as the ‘Shanghai Enterprise Technology Center’ in March 2001. Currently, this technology center comprises various research platforms, including the Central Office, Nuclear Power Pump Product Office, Hydraulic Research Laboratory, Material Application Research Laboratory, Hydraulic Machinery Testing Technology Research Laboratory, and Mechanics Research Laboratory. Equipped with advanced research and design software systems like CIMATROM 3D CAD, CAM, CAE, FMS, and specialized CFD analysis software, along with cutting-edge inspection equipment, it ensures precise testing and evaluation.
The center, boasting over 300 technical experts, is composed of renowned domestic pump experts, professors, PhD and master’s degree holders, as well as mid to senior-level engineers and advanced technologists. This innovative team structure provides vital human resources support for the Group’s strategic development in the production of pumps for nuclear and large thermal power units, and other high-end pump applications.
Collaborating extensively with national and international technical resources, the Technology Center has formed a diverse technical consortium. Notably, in key R&D projects such as pumps for nuclear and thermal power and major chemical pumps, collaborations with institutions like the China Fluid Machinery Research Institute, Tsinghua University, Jiangsu University, Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, and Tongji University maximize the utilization of domestic and international technical expertise.
In August 2010, the ‘Secondary Nuclear Pump Thermal Shock and Performance Test Bench’ was completed, conducting thermal shock experiments on secondary nuclear high-pressure injection pumps and other nuclear-grade pumps, obtaining national nuclear safety design and production licenses. With an investment of 10 million yuan, a Pump Mechanics Research Laboratory and Testing Platform were established for pump rotor dynamics research, finite element strength calculations, pump unit stress analysis, fault diagnosis, and mechanical testing. Another investment of 150 million yuan resulted in a multifunctional high-precision four-quadrant hydraulic machinery model test bench and a large-scale test bench for nuclear and thermal power pumps.
Over the past three years, Shanghai Kaiquan Technology Center has participated in the formulation of 36 batches of national and industry standards. As of the end of April 2019, the center has obtained over 535 patents, including 45 invention patents. In 2007, the project ‘Submersible Pump Theory and Key Technology Research and Application’ won the National Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class). In 2010, the independently developed Secondary Nuclear High-Pressure Injection Pump passed the significant technical equipment research and development task of the Shanghai Economic Commission. The center has undertaken nearly 30 major product research projects, and in 2014, the nuclear power AP1000 main circulating pump and feedwater pump passed the appraisal. From 2016 to 2018, Kaiquan’s technical personnel received the ‘China General Machinery Industry Scientific and Technological Progress Award’ for three consecutive years. In 2018, three projects of Shanghai Kaiquan were awarded the ‘Shanghai High-tech Transformation Achievement Project,’ and in the same year, the Lanzhou Technology Center and Zhenjiang Technology Center were established. In 2019, Kaiquan established three professional research institutes.
During the ’13th Five-Year Plan,’ the focus of the Technology Center’s new product and new technology development was on meeting the demands of national key projects and the localization of major technical equipment. In crucial sectors such as nuclear power, large thermal power, and petrochemicals, it successfully developed high-end pumps with independent intellectual property rights.