A Review of the Design and Control of Free-Piston Linear Generator

Xuezhen Wang; Feixue Chen; Renfeng Zhu; Guilin Yang; Chi Zhang

LAPSE

Living Archive for Process Systems Engineering

LAPSE:2018.0700

Published Article

LAPSE:2018.0700

A Review of the Design and Control of Free-Piston Linear Generator

Xuezhen Wang, Feixue Chen, Renfeng Zhu, Guilin Yang, Chi Zhang

September 21, 2018

The Free-piston linear generator (FPLG) is a novel energy converter which can generate electrical energy and is regarded as a potential technology for solving the restriction of the short driving range of electric vehicles. Getting rid of the crank and flywheel mechanism, FPLG obtains some advantages of a variable compression ratio, compact size, and highly-efficient power generation. Linear electric machine (LEM) design and piston motion control are two key technologies of FPLG. However, they are currently the main obstacles to the favorable performance of FPLG. LEM being used to drive the piston motion or generate electric energy is an integrated design including a motor/generator. Various types of LEMs are investigated, and suitable application scenarios based on advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The FPLG’s controller is used to ensure stable operation and highly-efficient output. However, cycle-to-cycle variations of the combustion process and motor/generator switching make it difficult to improve the performance of the piston motion control. Comments on the advantages and disadvantages of different piston motion control methods are also given in this paper.

Record ID

LAPSE:2018.0700

Keywords

free-piston, internal combustion engine, linear electric machine, piston motion control

Subject

Process Design

Suggested Citation

Wang X, Chen F, Zhu R, Yang G, Zhang C. A Review of the Design and Control of Free-Piston Linear Generator. (2018). LAPSE:2018.0700

Author Affiliations

Wang X: Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Technology of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China [ORCID]
Chen F: Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Technology of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beiji
Zhu R: Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Technology of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beiji
Yang G: Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Technology of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
Zhang C: Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Technology of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
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Journal Name

Energies

Volume

11

Issue

8

Article Number

E2179

Year

2018

Publication Date

2018-08-20