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Design of Free-Piston Linear Generator

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Advances in IC Engines and Combustion Technology (NCICEC 2019)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

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Abstract

Hydrocarbon fuels have high energy density compared to batteries (reference); hence, converting the energy of fuels through conventional engines into electrical energy with the help of rotary generators is a common practice. But this process involved lot of inefficiencies. Coupling of two new concepts, i.e. free-piston engine and linear electric generation, may prove to be an efficient way and can act as mileage range extender for electric/electrified vehicles. Idea behind this project was to use geometrical parameters of conventional single cylinder diesel engine and check if same parameters can be used for free-piston engine (FPE) using simulations. Conventional diesel engine CFD model was prepared in CONVERGE CFD software and was validated with experimental data. Same engine was then modified to simulate as a free-piston engine and the piston motion was analysed. To check efficient linear electric generation, a simple generator circuit was prepared with help of MATLAB–Simulink module. The electricity output was analysed adding a sample battery into the Simulink circuit. Based on the simulation results obtained, a free-piston layout for simple structure, proper balancing, and linear electric generator to avoid mechanical losses concluded as possible solution for efficient electricity generation

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Abbreviations

FPE:

Free-Piston Engine

FPLG:

Free-Piston Linear Generator

CFD:

Computational Fluid Dynamics

FSI:

Fluid Structure Interaction

RLC circuit:

Resistance Inductor Capacitor circuit

TDC:

Top Dead Centre

BDC:

Bottom Dead Centre

ε*:

Damping Ratio

F p :

Pressure Force (N)

F p :

Pressure Force (N)

F f :

Friction Force (N)

F e :

Electromagnetic Force (N)

m :

Mass of Piston (kg)

R :

Resistance (Ω)

φ :

Magnetic Flux (Wb)

e g :

EMF inside Generator (V)

k g :

Generator Constant (Wb/m)

f mep :

Mean Effective Friction Pressure (N/m2)

S :

Stroke Length (m)

rps:

Revolutions per Seconds

Fmep:

Mean Effective Pressure Force (N)

F comb :

Combustion Force (N)

K :

Stiffness of Spring (N/m)

C :

Damping Constant (Ns/m)

∂ n :

Natural Vibrating Frequency (s-1)

∂ d :

Damped Natural Frequency (s-1)

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank faculty of College of Engineering, Pune and staff of MTU India Pvt. Ltd., EARC, Pune for extending their support in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Engineering, Pune, India

    Aditya Purkar & P. R. Dhamangaonkar

  2. MTU India Pvt. Ltd. (EARC), Pune, India

    K. Muralidharan

Authors
  1. Aditya Purkar
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  2. P. R. Dhamangaonkar
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  3. K. Muralidharan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aditya Purkar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Ashwani K. Gupta

  2. LLC, CSTI Associates, Yardley, PA, USA

    Hukam C. Mongia

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

    Pankaj Chandna

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

    Gulshan Sachdeva

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Purkar, A., Dhamangaonkar, P.R., Muralidharan, K. (2021). Design of Free-Piston Linear Generator. In: Gupta, A., Mongia, H., Chandna, P., Sachdeva, G. (eds) Advances in IC Engines and Combustion Technology. NCICEC 2019. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5996-9_54

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5996-9_54

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-5995-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-5996-9

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