Volume 54

A Preliminary Experimental Study on a Free-piston Engine Generator Prototype Shunmin Zhu, Shivaprasad Vijayalakshmi, Ugochukwu Ngwaka, Sumit Roy, Richard Williams, Andrew Smallbone, Anthony Paul Roskilly

Abstract

As an emerging micro- or small-scale energy conversion technology, free-piston engine generator (FPEG) features the advantages of high efficiency, high volumetric power density, and multi-fuel adaptability potential. To solve the issues that the previous FPEG prototype (developed in the authors’ group) had, in this work, we developed a new FPEG prototype with a compact structure that is capable of operating at a higher frequency. Some preliminary experimental results are obtained from the new prototype. The results indicate that there is no significant operation inconsistency between the two free-piston engines, and achieving continuous combustion in both of the engines will be the subject of future research.

Keywords energy conversion, free-piston engine, linear generator, experimental study