William Liu
Researcher
Details
Researcher
About me
At KTH, I work as a researcher with focus on railway energy and sustainability.
I have been working and researching in the railway field since 2008. I have joined the system development and commissioning testings of several high-speed railways (with a top speed of 421 km/h). To make rail transport more reliable, more affordable and more attractive, so far I have participated in more than 20 railway-related research projects and published 60 publications (conference and journal articles) about research on rail transport systems. My research interests cover traction and braking, electric power supply, driving optimization, pantograph-catenary dynamics, train thermal comfort, climate adaptation, circular economy, maglev train and hyperloop system.
Work experience:
- Researcher in Rail Vehicle Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2020.01 - now
- Member of Swedish Electrical Standardization Committee (SEK Svensk Elstandard). 2020.06 - now
- Postdoc Researcher in Rail Vehicle Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2017.12 - 2019.12
- Assistant Researcher at China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), Beijing. 2011.06 - 2013.05
- Research Engineer at China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), Beijing. 2009.06 - 2011.05
- Intern at China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), Beijing. 2008.
Education qualification:
- Docent in Rail Vehicle Technology with focus on energy, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2025.06
- Doctor of Philosophy in Vehicle Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2017.10
- Licentiate of Technology in Vehicle Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2015.10
- Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin. 2009.06
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin. 2007.06
Teaching:
- Rail Vehicle Technology (SD2307), master level, Teacher
- Vehicle System Technology (SD2221), master level, Teacher
- Energy System (MJ1145), bachelor level, Teacher
- Energy Technologies for Sustainable Transport (MJ2506), master level, Teacher
- Vehicle Engineering (SD1002), bachelor level, Teacher
- Railway system and rail vehicle technology, Professional education for industry, Teacher
- Vehicle dynamics project course part I (SD2229), master level, Teacher
- Vehicle dynamics project course part II (SD2230), master level, Teacher
- Energy technologies for sustainable transport (MJ2506), master level, Teacher
- Rail system perspective, doctoral level, for PhD students at four Swedish railway research centres, Teacher
- KTH Delsbo Electric Team, Advisor
Supervision:
- Bachelor's theses (7)
- Jakob Lindbergh and Hector Älfvåg, Optimering av tågs kontakt med kontaktledning – utplacerade massors påkerkan på kontaktkraftens kvalitet, 2019.
- Alice Zhang and Gustav Ström, Delsbo electric: Design och tillverkning av bottenplatta till ett rälsfordon, 2022.
- Ludvig Danström, Delsbo electric: Optimering av fjäder-dämpar system, 2023.
- Olof Skagerlind and Gabriel Forsling, Delsbo electric: Optimering av hjuldesign, 2023.
- Oliver Rehn, Delsbo electric: Energiförbrukning & köroptimering, 2024.
- Henric Molin and Anton Säll, Hyperloop: Study on traction energy consumption, 2025.
- Darian Rafiq and Aboud Shammo, Hyperloop: Study on heat generation and cooling, 2025.
- Master's theses (12)
- Philipp Geiberger, Analysis of the electrical energy consumption of LKAB’s iron ore trains, 2021.
- Alexandra Jerresand and Micaela Diamant, Energy usage of smart wayside object controller, 2021.
- Filipp Zarov, Life cycle cost of smart wayside object controller, 2021.
- Gaston Holmström, Pantograph-catenary wear modelling using dynamic simulation, 2022.
- Sidharth Kapoor, Energy usage of railway wayside object heating, 2022.
- Jimmy Liden, Optimization of comfort-related energy of Stockholm commuter trains, 2023.
- Siddharth Sumathi, Modelling of heat transfer of railway switch heating, 2023.
- Yijing Pang, Optimization of traction energy of Stockholm commuter trains, 2023.
- Gökmen Dursun, Cost modelling of optimizing train operation and upgrading infrastructure for decision-making, 2024.
- Kangli Chen, Modelling of power supply systems of Stockholm local rail transport, 2025.
- Danlin Fang, Study on train driving strategies in virtual coupling operation, 2024/2025. (ongoing)
- Yinan Yang, Circular economy: Quantifying railway sustainability, 2024/2025. (ongoing)
- Doctoral students (Co-supervisor):
- Bastian Schick, Pantograph-catenary dynamic interaction, 2021.03 - 2026.06. (expected)
- Yanjun Zhang, Braking system of rail vehicle, 2021.09 - 2025.11.
- Yan Xu, Rail vehicle dynamics under adverse conditions, 2021.02 - 2022.09.
Courses
Degree Project in Rail Vehicle Engineering, Second Cycle (SD231X), teacher
Energy Technologies for Sustainable Transportation (MJ2506), teacher
Rail Vehicle Technology (SD2307), teacher
Vehicle Dynamics Project Course Part 1 (SD2229), teacher
Vehicle Dynamics Project Course Part 2 (SD2230), teacher
Vehicle Engineering (SD1002), teacher
Vehicle System Technology (SD2221), teacher