Hydromechanical Transmission Research Institute

The Hydromechanical Transmission Research Institute (abbreviated as the Hydromechanical Institute) of Jilin University was founded in the 1950s by the renowned Chinese automotive expert Professor Luo Bangjie. As the earliest institution in China dedicated to vehicle transmission technology research and graduate education, its research directions include: automotive transmission theory and novel transmission technology development; automotive automatic transmission theory and control technology; design and manufacturing of automotive transmission systems and key components; and vehicle hydromechanical transmission.

In the 1960s, the Institute collaborated with FAW to successfully develop the hydraulic automatic transmission for the Hongqi (Red Flag) sedan. In the 1980s, Professor Ge Anlin proposed the "dynamic three-parameter optimal shift schedule" theory and pioneered research on electronically controlled mechanical automatic transmissions (AMT) in China. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the Institute undertook and completed the national key science and technology projects "Development of Electronically Controlled Mechanical Automatic Transmission" and "Automotive Electronic Control Metal Belt Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)." During the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, it proposed and completed the national defense equipment pre-research project "Development of Torque Converter and Mechanical Automatic Shift System." During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, as a primary technical supporter, the Institute completed all three national "863 Program" projects on passenger car DCT and one project on commercial vehicle AMT. The passenger car torque converter project received the First Prize of the Automotive Industry Science and Technology Progress Award and the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. The automatic transmission theory project received the Second Prize of the China University Science and Technology Award, and the modern design method for construction machinery torque converters received the Second Prize of the China Machinery Industry Federation Science and Technology Progress Award.

Building upon the facilities established during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period—including a four-wheel-drive chassis dynamometer, vehicle emission analysis equipment, and an automotive T-type transmission test bench—the Institute added a vehicle hydromechanical transmission test bench and an AMT test bench during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, along with a comprehensive set of powertrain system simulation and design software. The Institute is now fully equipped with experimental and teaching capabilities in automotive transmission technology, including performance testing and analysis of transmission systems and key components, powertrain system matching and calibration, and development of automatic transmission electronic control systems. The Institute serves as the host unit of the SAIC Motor-Jilin University Automotive Transmission Engineering Center and the chair unit of the Transmission Professional Committee of the Jilin Provincial Society of Automotive Engineers.

Currently, the Institute has 9 faculty and staff members, including 4 professors, 1 associate professor, 1 lecturer, and 3 laboratory technicians. It has cultivated a large number of transmission technology professionals for the automotive industry. Currently, over 40 master's and doctoral students are enrolled, with graduates typically pursuing careers in research, development, and production in automotive transmission and related fields at leading domestic OEMs, research institutes, and universities. The Institute maintains extensive international cooperation and exchange, having established long-term collaborative relationships and academic exchange mechanisms with internationally renowned institutions and enterprises, including Technische Universität Braunschweig, Technische Universität Darmstadt, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany; Michigan State University and General Motors Research & Development Center in North America; and Yokohama National University and Jatco Ltd. in Japan.

Looking ahead, the Institute will continue to focus on the international frontiers of automotive automatic transmission technology while addressing the development needs of China's automotive industry. Its research will concentrate on automatic transmission theory and engineering application technologies, low-carbon and high-efficiency vehicle transmission technologies, and high-precision modeling and experimental validation technologies for vehicle hydromechanical transmissions.

Address: Hydromechanical Transmission Research Institute, Nanling Campus, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun, China
Telephone: 0431-85095198
Director: Lei Yulong
Email: leiyl@jlu.edu.cn