Investigation into a novel pressure-balanced free-piston engine as a high efficiency chemical energy convertor

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Title
Investigation into a novel pressure-balanced free-piston engine as a high efficiency chemical energy convertor

CoPED ID
c8369139-8988-4018-a017-6656a64c92fc

Status
Active

Funders

Value
No funds listed.

Start Date
Sept. 29, 2019

End Date
Sept. 29, 2023

Description

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The opposed-piston 2-stroke (OP2S) engine has historically been applied to aircraft propulsion as well as engines for power generation and rail traction with great success. More recently, Achates Power have shown the potential of the OP2S engine for automotive applications. The low surface area to volume ratio of the combustion chamber in OP2S engines, combined with its lack of a cylinder head, results in lower heat losses yielding high exhaust gas energy, making it an ideal candidate for turbocharging, as well as increased brake thermal efficiency. However, due to the requirement for a positive delta pressure across the cylinder at all operating points (intake manifold pressure must be higher than exhaust manifold pressure) to ensure the scavenging performance of 2-stroke engines, crankcase scavenging is typically used instead as, unlike a turbocharger-driven charging system, it guarantees a positive delta pressure gradient at all operating points. Nevertheless, other scavenging systems, such as a supercharger in conjunction with a turbocharger, have been shown to provide effective scavenging performance whilst utilising the otherwise wasted exhaust gas energy. Moreover, the use of a combined supercharger/turbocharger charging system with an OP2S architecture provides greater flexibility in the air-fuel-ratio control and exhaust temperature management, whereas conventional 4-stroke engines are expected to require the use of cylinder deactivation or other thermal management strategies to meet the low emissions standards. Furthermore, the use of electrically assisted turbochargers not only increases this flexibility but also provides a means of extracting excess work from the turbine by turbocompounding, whilst simplifying the intake air path.

Alexander YOUNG STUDENT_PER

Subjects by relevance
  1. Motors and engines
  2. Emissions
  3. Exhaust gases
  4. Cylinders
  5. Diesel engines
  6. Turbo engines
  7. Supercharged engines
  8. Exhaustion
  9. Combustion engines
  10. Energy efficiency
  11. Engineers

Extracted key phrases
  1. Piston engine
  2. High efficiency chemical energy convertor
  3. Op2s engine
  4. High exhaust gas energy
  5. Stroke engine
  6. Positive delta pressure gradient
  7. Novel pressure
  8. Intake manifold pressure
  9. Investigation
  10. Scavenging system
  11. Effective scavenging performance
  12. Brake thermal efficiency
  13. Op2s architecture
  14. Crankcase scavenging
  15. Low heat loss

Related Pages

UKRI project entry

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