Skip to main content
Log in

Study on the combustion process and work capacity of a micro free-piston engine

  • Published:
Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

With the main idea of exploring combustion conditions and the work capacity of the micro free-piston engine, the study concern is visualization work including Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion in the micro-chamber. The initial freepiston velocity was adjusted to achieve a wide range of compression ratio. The combustion characteristics, the piston motion and pressure variations under different compression ratios were discussed. Results indicate that the critical combustion condition occurs when the compression ratio rises to a certain degree. Two-stage combustion characteristics can be observed in micro HCCI combustion processes with the fuel of the DME/oxygen mixture. The micro-chamber pressure increases with the increase of the compression ratio. The critical peak pressure of 5.4 MPa is obtained when the initial piston velocity reaches 15.0 m/s and the diameter and the length of the microchamber is 3 mm and 37 mm, respectively.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Y. Ju and K. Maruta, Microscale combustion: Technology development and fundamental research, Process in Energy and Combustion Science, 37 (6) (2011) 669–715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. K. Maruta, Micro and mesoscale combustion, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 33 (1) (2011) 125–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. I. A. Waitz, G. Gauba and Y. S. Tzeng, Combustors for micro-gas turbine engines, ASME J. of Fluids Engineering, 120 (1) (1998) 109–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Y. I. Kim, C. K. Choi and H. H. Yoo, Development of multiple performance indices and system parameter study for the design of a MEMS accelerometer, JMST, 26 (1) (2012) 31–37.

    Google Scholar 

  5. R. Mikalsen and A. P. Roskilly, A review of free-piston engine history and applications, Applied Thermal Engineering, 27, (14–15) (2007) 2339–2352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Q. Li, J. Xiao and Z. Huang, Simulation of a two-stroke freepiston engine for electrical power generation, Energy & Fuels, 22 (5) (2008) 3443–3449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. J. Kim, C. Bae and G. Kim, Simulation on the Effect of the Combustion Parameters on the Piston Dynamics and Engine Performance Using the Wiebe Function in a Free-piston Engine, Applied Energy, 107 (2013) 446–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. V. I. Golovitchev, M. Bergman and L. Montorsi, CFD modeling of diesel oil and DME performance in a two-stroke free-piston engine, Combustion Science and Technology, 179, (1–2) (2007) 417–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. R. Mikalsen and A. P. Roskilly, A computational study of free-piston diesel engine combustion, Applied Energy, 86, (7–8) (2009) 1136–1143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. R. Mikalsen and A. P. Roskilly, The control of a free-piston engine generator. Part 1: Fundamental analyses, Applied Energy, 87 (4) (2010) 1273–1280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. R. Mikalsen and A. P. Roskilly, The control of a free-piston engine generator. Part 2: Engine dynamics and piston motion control, Applied Energy, 87 (4) (2010) 1281–1287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. W. Wu, J. Hu and S. Yuan, Semi-analytical modelling of a hydraulic free-piston engine, Applied Energy, 120 (2014) 75–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Y. Wang, Z. Zhou, W. Yang, J. Zhou, J. Liu, Z. Wang and K. Cen, Instability of flame in micro combustor under different external thermal environment, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 35 (7) (2011) 1451–1457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. P. V. Blarigan, Homogeneous charge compression ignition with a free-piston: A new approach to ideal otto cycle performance, SAE Paper 982484, San Francisco, California, United States (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  15. S. Xu et al., Numerical analysis of two-stroke free-piston engine operating on HCCI combustion, Applied Energy, 88 (11) (2011) 3712–3725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. C. J. Chiang and A. G. Stefanopoulou, Sensitivity analysis of combustion timing of homogeneous charge compression ignition gasoline engines, J. of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 131 (1) (2009) 014506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. C. J. Chiang et al., Dynamic modeling of a SI/HCCI freepiston engine generator with electric mechanical valves, Applied Energy, 102 (2013) 336–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. H. Yasar et al., Double-Wiebe function: An approach for single-zone HCCI engine modeling, Applied Thermal Engineering, 28, (11–12) (2008) 1284–1290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. V. Shirsat and A. K. Gupta, Performance characteristics of methanol and kerosene fuelled meso-scale heat-recirculating combustors, Applied Energy, 88 (12) (2011) 5069–5082.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. C. Y. H. Chao, K. S. Hui, W. Kong, P. Cheng and J. H Wang, Analytical and experimental study of premixed methane-air flame propagation in narrow channels, International J. of Heat and Mass Transfer, 50, (7–8) (2007) 1302–1313.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  21. Y. Ju and B. Xu, Theoretical and experimental studies on mesoscale flame propagation and extinction, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 30 (2) (2005) 2445–2453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. H. T. Aichlmayr, D. B. Kittelson and M. R. Zachariah, Micro-HCCI combustion: Experimental characterization and development of a detailed chemical kinetic model with coupled piston motion, Combustion and Flame, 135 (3) (2003) 227–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. I. Sher, D. Levinzon-Sher and E. Sher, Miniaturization limitations of HCCI internal combustion engines, Applied Thermal Engineering, 29, (2–3) (2009) 400–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. E. Sher and I. Sher, Theoretical limits of scaling-down internal combustion engines, Chemical Engineering Science, 66 (3) (2011) 260–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. J. Bai et al., Study on methane HCCI combustion process of micro free-piston power device, Applied Thermal Engineering, 73 (1) (2014) 1064–1073.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. H. T. Aichlmayr, D. B. Kittelson and M. R. Zachariah, Miniature free-piston homogeneous charge compression ignition engine-compressor concept — Part I: Performance estimation and design considerations unique to small dimensions, Chemical Engineering Science, 57 (19) (2002) 4161–4171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. H. T. Aichlmayr, D. B. Kittelson and M. R. Zachariah, Miniature free-piston homogeneous charge compression ignition engine-compressor concept—Part II: Modeling HCCI combustion in small scales with detailed homogeneous gas phase chemical kinetics, Chemical Engineering Science, 57 (19) (2002) 4173–4186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. A. A. Nuraini, A. K. A. M. Ihsan, M. J. M. Nor and N. Jamaluddin, Vibro-acoustic analysis of free piston engine structure using finite element and boundary element methods, JMST, 26 (8) (2012) 2405–2411.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhixia He.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Jeong Park

Qian Wang is a Professor in School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University. He is also the Dean of School of Energy and Power Engineering. His research interests include Test and modeling on Combustion of Engines, Micro heat transfer and energy conversion with applications in micro power system.

Zhixia He is a Professor in Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University. She is also the Vice Director of Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University. Her research interests include Spray and Turbulent Combustion in Diesel Engines, Numerical Simulation and Visual Experiment of Cavitating Two-phase Flow in Injectors and Theory and Technology of Thermal Fluid in Utilization of Energy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, Q., Dai, L., Wu, K. et al. Study on the combustion process and work capacity of a micro free-piston engine. J Mech Sci Technol 29, 4993–5000 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-1047-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-1047-4

Keywords

Navigation