Thermodynamic Simulation and Prototype Testing of a Four Stroke Free Piston Engine

Abstract

In order to achieve higherenergy conversion efficiency, a freepiston engine with an improved fourstroke thermodynamic cycle is investigated in this paper. This cycle is optimized according to the variable strokes feature and is characterized by the short intake stroke, the complete expansion stroke, the external pressurization, and the intercooling. The development of a fourstroke freepiston engine system simulation model was described, and the effects of the cycle on the system performances were qualitatively analyzed. According to the experiment of the prototype, the generating efficiency of 33.4% can be achieved when the system is fueled with gasoline and the output power is significantly increased from 1.62 to 2.68 kW. The simulation and experiment results are analyzed in detail, giving insight into the performances of the system. Studies show that the energysaving and environmental protection performances of the system can be significantly promoted by using the improved thermodynamic cycle.