Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology

, Volume 29, Issue 11, pp 4993–5000 | Cite as

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

Article

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.

Keywords

Free-piston Micro engine HCCI Pressure experiment Work capacity 

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. [1]
    Y. Ju and K. Maruta, Microscale combustion: Technology development and fundamental research, Process in Energy and Combustion Science, 37 (6) (2011) 669–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. [2]
    K. Maruta, Micro and mesoscale combustion, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 33 (1) (2011) 125–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. [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. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. [9]
    R. Mikalsen and A. P. Roskilly, A computational study of free-piston diesel engine combustion, Applied Energy, 86, (7–8) (2009) 1136–1143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. [12]
    W. Wu, J. Hu and S. Yuan, Semi-analytical modelling of a hydraulic free-piston engine, Applied Energy, 120 (2014) 75–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. [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. [15]
    S. Xu et al., Numerical analysis of two-stroke free-piston engine operating on HCCI combustion, Applied Energy, 88 (11) (2011) 3712–3725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. [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.CrossRefMATHGoogle Scholar
  21. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. [24]
    E. Sher and I. Sher, Theoretical limits of scaling-down internal combustion engines, Chemical Engineering Science, 66 (3) (2011) 260–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. [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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. [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

Copyright information

© The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Qian Wang
    • 1
  • Liming Dai
    • 1
  • Kai Wu
    • 1
  • Jin Bai
    • 1
  • Zhixia He
    • 2
  1. 1.School of Energy and Power EngineeringJiangsu UniversityZhenjiangChina
  2. 2.Institute for Energy ResearchJiangsu UniversityZhenjiangChina

Personalised recommendations