Sensitivity and effect of key operational parameters on performance of a dual-cylinder free-piston engine generator

The free-piston engine generator(FPEG)is regarded as the next generation of energy conversion system which may replace traditional engines in the future.The effect of key operational parameters like excess air ratio of input mixture and ignition position on the engine performance of a dual-cylinder FPEG was investigated,and their sensitivity was analyzed in this paper.The operating compression ratio of the system is susceptible to changes in excess air ratio and ignition position.At the same time,it decreases from 15.8 to 6.6 when excess air ratio increases from 0.85 to 1.15,but it increases from 6.1 to 13.3 as ignition position increases from 15 mm to 20 mm.The operating frequency and indicated power are more sensitive to changes in excess air ratio than ignition position.But it is the opposite for the indicated thermal efficiency and friction loss.Excess air ratio and ignition position have a quite similar influence on heat transfer.Therefore,from the perspective of system operation and performance,it is preferable to keep excess air coefficient slightly below 1.0.In contrast,when selecting ignition position,it is of great importance to comprehensively consider the risk of structural damage caused by the increase in the compression ratio and in-cylinder gas pressure.

Experimental study on compression stroke characteristics of free- piston engine generator

The compression stroke characteristics of free-piston engine generator were studied. The numerical model of the compression stroke was established based on thermodynamics and dynamics equation,and the leak loss,heat loss and friction loss were considered. Through solving numerical equations,the in-cylinder pressure of compression stroke under different compression ratios was calculated,energy transfer and conversion process was analyzed,and the calculated results were experimentally verified. The results showed that the actual effective output of electronic energy and the compression energy stored in the com-pressed gas accounted for about 70%. The compression energy gradually increased with the increasing com-pression ratio. When the compression ratio was more than 7. 5,the actual compression energy increased slowly and the energy error between simulation and test decreased.

Intelligent manufacturing system of impeller for computer numerical control(CNC) programming based on KBE

To solve the problem of advanced digital manufacturing technology in the practical application, a knowledge engineering technology was introduced into the computer numerical control(CNC) programming. The knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation and reasoning used in CNC programming were researched. The CNC programming system functional architecture of impeller parts based on knowledge based engineering(KBE) was constructed. The structural model of the general knowledge-based system(KBS) was also constructed. The KBS of CNC programming system was established through synthesizing database technology and knowledge base theory. And in the context of corporate needs, based on the knowledge-driven manufacturing platform(i.e. UG CAD/CAM), VC++6.0 and UG/Open, the KBS and UG CAD/CAM were integrated seamlessly and the intelligent CNC programming KBE system for the impeller parts was developed by integrating KBE and UG CAD/CAM system. A method to establish standard process templates was proposed, so as to develop the intelligent CNC programming system in which CNC machining process and process parameters were standardized by using this KBE system. For the impeller parts processing, the method applied in the development of the prototype system is proven to be viable, feasible and practical.

Effect of Disturbances on the Operation Process of a Methane-Fueled Free-Piston Engine Generator

In this paper,the effect of disturbances on the operation process of a methane-fueled free-piston engine generator(FPEG)was experimentally investigated.Four disturbance sources,namely step change of external load,mixture flow rate fluctuation,random misfire of a cylinder,and elastic collision,were identified and applied to the FPEG.The results showed that the FPEG successfully achieved a steady-state operation with load.The maximum instantaneous electric power of 127 W and the average effective electric power of 38.9 W were obtained.When an external load was instantaneously disconnected,the engine frequency increased from 26.7 Hz to 31.3 Hz.The fluctuation amplitudes of induced voltage,pressure and compression ratio were 18.9%,24.7%and 52.2%respectively in the disturbance.By contrast,when the external load was instantaneously connected,the corresponding values were 42.2%,31.3%and 64.3%respectively,indicating that the instantaneous external load connection had a greater disturbance impact on the FPEG operation stability.Despite encountering the step change of external load,the FPEG can still restore stable operation and show good anti-disturbance ability.Compared with increasing mixture flow rate,reducing the mixture flow rate has a greater disturbance impact on the engine operation stability.Although random misfire of a cylinder will cause remarkable fluctuations in piston displacement and cylinder pressure,the FPEG will not stop running,but continues to work as a single-piston engine.Minor collision event may adversely affect the stability of engine operation,but will not lead to the FPEG shutdown.However,serious collision event may lead to ignition failure and shutdown accident.

Design and modeling of a free-piston engine generator

Free-piston engine generators (FPEGs) can be applied as decarbonized range extenders for electric vehicles because of their high thermal efficiency, low friction loss, and ultimate fuel flexibility. In this paper, a parameter-decoupling approach is proposed to model the design of an FPEG. The parameter-decoupling approach first divides the FPEG into three parts: a two-stroke engine, an integrated scavenging pump, and a linear permanent magnet synchronous machine (LPMSM). Then, each of these is designed according to predefined specifications and performance targets. Using this decoupling approach, a numerical model of the FPEG, including the three aforementioned parts, was developed. Empirical equations were adopted to design the engine and scavenging pump, while special considerations were applied for the LPMSM. A finite element model with a multi-objective genetic algorithm was adopted for its design. The finite element model results were fed back to the numerical model to update the LPMSM with increased fidelity. The designed FPEG produced 10.2 kW of electric power with an overall system efficiency of 38.5% in a stable manner. The model provides a solid foundation for the manufacturing of related FPEG prototypes.