IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v179y2016icp1166-1175.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Piston motion control of a free-piston engine generator: A new approach using cascade control

Author

Listed:
  • Jia, Boru
  • Mikalsen, Rikard
  • Smallbone, Andrew
  • Zuo, Zhengxing
  • Feng, Huihua
  • Roskilly, Anthony Paul

Abstract

The free-piston engine generator (FPEG) is a linear energy conversion system, which is known to have greater thermal efficiency than an equivalent and more conventional reciprocating engine. The piston motion of a FPEG is not restricted by a crankshaft-connection rod mechanism, it must be controlled to overcome challenges in the starting process, risk of misfire, and unstable operation. In this paper, the global control structure for a FPEG prototype is presented. A Cascade control strategy is proposed for the piston stable operation level, and PID controllers are used for both of the outer loop and inner loop. The measured top dead centre of the previous stroke and the piston velocity during the current stroke are taken for controller feedback, and the injected fuel mass is used as the control variable. The proposed cascade control implemented in the FPEG is shown to have good performance, the piston returns to a stable state in 0.5s. Compared with a single loop control strategy, the performance of cascade control is improved in terms of the control delay, peak error and settling time.

Suggested Citation

  • Jia, Boru & Mikalsen, Rikard & Smallbone, Andrew & Zuo, Zhengxing & Feng, Huihua & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2016. "Piston motion control of a free-piston engine generator: A new approach using cascade control," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1166-1175.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:179:y:2016:i:c:p:1166-1175
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.07.081
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261916310224
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.07.081?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jia, Boru & Tian, Guohong & Feng, Huihua & Zuo, Zhengxing & Roskilly, A.P., 2015. "An experimental investigation into the starting process of free-piston engine generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 798-804.
    2. Mikalsen, R. & Roskilly, A.P., 2010. "The control of a free-piston engine generator. Part 1: Fundamental analyses," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 1273-1280, April.
    3. Kim, Jaeheun & Bae, Choongsik & Kim, Gangchul, 2013. "Simulation on the effect of the combustion parameters on the piston dynamics and engine performance using the Wiebe function in a free piston engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 446-455.
    4. Zhang, Shuanlu & Zhao, Changlu & Zhao, Zhenfeng, 2015. "Stability analysis of hydraulic free piston engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 805-813.
    5. Jia, Boru & Zuo, Zhengxing & Feng, Huihua & Tian, Guohong & Smallbone, Andrew & Roskilly, A.P., 2016. "Effect of closed-loop controlled resonance based mechanism to start free piston engine generator: Simulation and test results," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 532-539.
    6. Feng, Huihua & Guo, Chendong & Yuan, Chenheng & Guo, Yuyao & Zuo, Zhengxing & Roskilly, Anthony Paul & Jia, Boru, 2016. "Research on combustion process of a free piston diesel linear generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 395-403.
    7. Mikalsen, R. & Jones, E. & Roskilly, A.P., 2010. "Predictive piston motion control in a free-piston internal combustion engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(5), pages 1722-1728, May.
    8. Mikalsen, R. & Roskilly, A.P., 2010. "The control of a free-piston engine generator. Part 2: Engine dynamics and piston motion control," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 1281-1287, April.
    9. Jia, Boru & Smallbone, Andrew & Feng, Huihua & Tian, Guohong & Zuo, Zhengxing & Roskilly, A.P., 2016. "A fast response free-piston engine generator numerical model for control applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 321-329.
    10. Wu, Wei & Hu, Jibin & Yuan, Shihua, 2014. "Semi-analytical modelling of a hydraulic free-piston engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 75-84.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Jian & Yang, Fubin & Zhang, Hongguang & Wu, Zhong & Tian, Yaming & Hou, Xiaochen & Xu, Yonghong & Ren, Jing, 2020. "Comparative analysis of different valve timing control methods for single-piston free piston expander-linear generator via an orthogonal experimental design," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    2. Javier Rico-Azagra & Montserrat Gil-Martínez, 2023. "Robust Cascade Control inside a New Model-Matching Architecture," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Wu, Zhong & Zhang, Hongguang & Liu, Zhongliang & Tian, Guohong & Hou, Xiaochen & Yang, Fubin, 2022. "Force and energy analysis of single-piston free-piston expander—linear generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    4. Zhu, Shunmin & Yu, Guoyao & O, Jongmin & Xu, Tao & Wu, Zhanghua & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2018. "Modeling and experimental investigation of a free-piston Stirling engine-based micro-combined heat and power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 522-533.
    5. Jia, Boru & Smallbone, Andrew & Mikalsen, Rikard & Feng, Huihua & Zuo, Zhengxing & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2017. "Disturbance analysis of a free-piston engine generator using a validated fast-response numerical model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 440-451.
    6. Zhang, Zhiyuan & Feng, Huihua & Jia, Boru & Zuo, Zhengxing & Yan, Xiaodong & Smallbone, Andrew & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2022. "Identification and analysis on the variation sources of a dual-cylinder free piston engine generator and their influence on system operating characteristics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    7. Hou, Xiaochen & Zhang, Hongguang & Xu, Yonghong & Yu, Fei & Zhao, Tenglong & Tian, Yaming & Yang, Yuxin & Zhao, Rui, 2018. "External load resistance effect on the free piston expander-linear generator for organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1252-1261.
    8. Xuezhen Wang & Feixue Chen & Renfeng Zhu & Guilin Yang & Chi Zhang, 2018. "A Review of the Design and Control of Free-Piston Linear Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    9. Wang, Yaodong & Chen, Lin & Jia, Boru & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2017. "Experimental study of the operation characteristics of an air-driven free-piston linear expander," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 93-99.
    10. Geng, Heming & Wang, Yang & Zhen, Xudong & Liu, Yu & Li, Zhiyong, 2018. "Study on adaptive behavior and mechanism of compression ratio (or piston motion profile) for combustion parameters in hydraulic free piston engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 921-928.
    11. Wronski, Jorrit & Imran, Muhammad & Skovrup, Morten Juel & Haglind, Fredrik, 2019. "Experimental and numerical analysis of a reciprocating piston expander with variable valve timing for small-scale organic Rankine cycle power systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 403-416.
    12. Boru Jia & Zhengxing Zuo & Andrew Smallbone & Huihua Feng & Anthony Paul Roskilly, 2017. "A Decoupled Design Parameter Analysis for Free-Piston Engine Generators," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, April.
    13. Li, Jian & Zuo, Zhengxing & Liu, Wenzhen & Jia, Boru & Feng, Huihua & Wang, Wei & Smallbone, Andrew & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2023. "Generating performance of a tubular permanent magnet linear generator for application on free-piston engine generator prototype with wide-ranging operating parameters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    14. Li, Jian & Zuo, Zhengxing & Jia, Boru & Feng, Huihua & Mei, Bingang & Smallbone, Andrew & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2024. "Operating characteristics and design parameter optimization of permanent magnet linear generator applied to free-piston energy converter," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    15. Boru Jia & Yaodong Wang & Andrew Smallbone & Anthony Paul Roskilly, 2018. "Analysis of the Scavenging Process of a Two-Stroke Free-Piston Engine Based on the Selection of Scavenging Ports or Valves," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-14, February.
    16. Wu, Zhong & Zhang, Hongguang & Liu, Zhongliang & Hou, Xiaochen & Li, Jian & Yang, Fubin & Zhang, Jian, 2021. "Experimental study on the performance of single-piston free-piston expander—linear generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    17. Guo, Chendong & Zuo, Zhengxing & Feng, Huihua & Jia, Boru & Roskilly, Tony, 2020. "Review of recent advances of free-piston internal combustion engine linear generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    18. Ziwei Zhang & Huihua Feng & Zhengxing Zuo, 2020. "Numerical Investigation of a Free-Piston Hydrogen-Gasoline Engine Linear Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-16, September.
    19. Hou, Xiaochen & Zhang, Hongguang & Yu, Fei & Liu, Hongda & Yang, Fubin & Xu, Yonghong & Tian, Yaming & Li, Gaosheng, 2017. "Free piston expander-linear generator used for organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 1297-1307.
    20. Chi Zhang & Feixue Chen & Long Li & Zhaoping Xu & Liang Liu & Guilin Yang & Hongyuan Lian & Yingzhong Tian, 2018. "A Free-Piston Linear Generator Control Strategy for Improving Output Power," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peng Sun & Chi Zhang & Jinhua Chen & Fei Zhao & Youyong Liao & Guilin Yang & Chinyin Chen, 2016. "Decoupling Design and Verification of a Free-Piston Linear Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Jia, Boru & Smallbone, Andrew & Mikalsen, Rikard & Feng, Huihua & Zuo, Zhengxing & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2017. "Disturbance analysis of a free-piston engine generator using a validated fast-response numerical model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 440-451.
    3. Wang, Yaodong & Chen, Lin & Jia, Boru & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2017. "Experimental study of the operation characteristics of an air-driven free-piston linear expander," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 93-99.
    4. Guo, Chendong & Zuo, Zhengxing & Feng, Huihua & Jia, Boru & Roskilly, Tony, 2020. "Review of recent advances of free-piston internal combustion engine linear generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    5. Fukang Ma & Shuanlu Zhang & Zhenfeng Zhao & Yifang Wang, 2021. "Research on the Operating Characteristics of Hydraulic Free-Piston Engines: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-23, June.
    6. Hung, Nguyen Ba & Lim, Ocktaeck, 2016. "A review of free-piston linear engines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 78-97.
    7. Ziwei Zhang & Huihua Feng & Zhengxing Zuo, 2020. "Numerical Investigation of a Free-Piston Hydrogen-Gasoline Engine Linear Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-16, September.
    8. Peng Sun & Chi Zhang & Jinhua Chen & Fei Zhao & Youyong Liao & Guilin Yang & Chinyin Chen, 2017. "Hybrid System Modeling and Full Cycle Operation Analysis of a Two-Stroke Free-Piston Linear Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, February.
    9. Zhang, Zhiyuan & Feng, Huihua & Jia, Boru & Zuo, Zhengxing & Yan, Xiaodong & Smallbone, Andrew & Roskilly, Anthony Paul, 2022. "Identification and analysis on the variation sources of a dual-cylinder free piston engine generator and their influence on system operating characteristics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    10. Xuezhen Wang & Feixue Chen & Renfeng Zhu & Guilin Yang & Chi Zhang, 2018. "A Review of the Design and Control of Free-Piston Linear Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    11. Zhang, Chen & Sun, Zongxuan, 2016. "Using variable piston trajectory to reduce engine-out emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 403-414.
    12. Boru Jia & Andrew Smallbone & Rikard Mikalsen & K.V. Shivaprasad & Sumit Roy & Anthony Paul Roskilly, 2019. "Performance Analysis of a Flexi-Fuel Turbine-Combined Free-Piston Engine Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-22, July.
    13. Jia, Boru & Smallbone, Andrew & Feng, Huihua & Tian, Guohong & Zuo, Zhengxing & Roskilly, A.P., 2016. "A fast response free-piston engine generator numerical model for control applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 321-329.
    14. Lim, Ocktaeck & Hung, Nguyen Ba & Oh, Seokyoung & Kim, Gangchul & Song, Hanho & Iida, Norimasa, 2015. "A study of operating parameters on the linear spark ignition engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 746-760.
    15. Zhang, Shuanlu & Zhao, Zhenfeng & Zhao, Changlu & Zhang, Fujun & Wang, Shan, 2016. "Experimental study of hydraulic electronic unit injector in a hydraulic free piston engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 888-898.
    16. Ayodeji Sowale & Edward J. Anthony & Athanasios John Kolios, 2018. "Optimisation of a Quasi-Steady Model of a Free-Piston Stirling Engine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    17. Huihua Feng & Yu Song & Zhengxing Zuo & Jiao Shang & Yaodong Wang & Anthony Paul Roskilly, 2015. "Stable Operation and Electricity Generating Characteristics of a Single-Cylinder Free Piston Engine Linear Generator: Simulation and Experiments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-21, January.
    18. Feng, Huihua & Guo, Chendong & Yuan, Chenheng & Guo, Yuyao & Zuo, Zhengxing & Roskilly, Anthony Paul & Jia, Boru, 2016. "Research on combustion process of a free piston diesel linear generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 395-403.
    19. Zhang, Chen & Sun, Zongxuan, 2017. "Trajectory-based combustion control for renewable fuels in free piston engines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 72-83.
    20. Hou, Xiaochen & Zhang, Hongguang & Xu, Yonghong & Yu, Fei & Zhao, Tenglong & Tian, Yaming & Yang, Yuxin & Zhao, Rui, 2018. "External load resistance effect on the free piston expander-linear generator for organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1252-1261.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:179:y:2016:i:c:p:1166-1175. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.