Achten, page 1

The development of the

Innas Free Piston Engine:
The art of choosing the right moment
Peter A.J. Achten
Innas BV
Nikkelstraat 15
4823 AE Breda
Netherlands
Summary
In numerous mobile machines like excavators and loaders the main power source is a
diesel engine coupled to one or more hydraulic pumps. In principle the design of such a
combination could be very simple: the combustion piston can directly be connected to the
plunger of the hydraulic pump. If possible, this combined piston should not be connected
to any mechanism. The piston should be able to move freely in its cylinder.
This design concept, which is called a free piston engine, is very appealing because of its
simplicity. Yet, appearances are deceptive. The free piston principle has a number of
fundamental design problems. Amongst them are the control of the piston movement and
the fuel injection system.
The Innas Free Piston (IFP) engine however proves that these problems can be solved
with modern technologies and components. The key elements are binary position sensors,
fast response hydraulic valves, modern microprocessor technology and a new fuel
injection system. The engine has been extensively tested at the testing facilities of the
Dutch engineering company Innas BV. The main characteristics of the IFP-engine are its
low costs, small dimensions, low weight, low fuel consumption and excellent dynamic
response to variations in flow demand. Furthermore the engine has low emissions, a long
life time and low maintenance costs.
The development of the IFP engine is now co-ordinated by a Dutch industrial company
called NOAX BV (NOAX = no axle). The next step will be the production and test of a
number of field test models. For that, NOAX co-operates with a small number of
applicants to which NOAX has granted market rights. The test can be seen as the first step
of the market introduction of the IFP engine. It is now up to the actors in the market to
choose the right timing for joining this process. In the end, choosing the right moment is
still an art.
Achten, page 2
1 Nomenclature
A Piston area [m
2
]
a Acceleration [m/s
2
]
F Force [N]
f Frequency [1/s]
FSN Filter Soot Number [-]
m Piston mass [kg]
NO
x
Specific NO
x
emission [gr/kWh
i
]
p, p
c
Pressure [Pa]
s
exp
Length of the expansion stroke [m]
t, t
inj
Time [s]
v Piston velocity [m/s]
x, x
h
Piston position [m]
i
Indicated efficiency [-]

Valve restriction coefficient

[Pas
2
/m
6
]
2 Introduction
Innovation is often seen as the result of an elaborated process in search of something
completely new. It is the outcome of big research projects in the front-line of physics,
chemistry and other sciences. In that perspective, innovation is expensive and full of risks,
for no one can predict how much effort it will cost to push the border of scientific and
technological knowledge a little further.
However, innovation can also be seen as the result of a clever combination of existing or
emerging technologies. In this approach, the growth of technological knowledge is seen as
a more or less autonomous process. The outcome of this process (new materials,
components, production technologies) is seen as an increase of the possibilities to
construct new products. This approach has the advantage of controlling the risk of a
product development. The key to success is the art of choosing the right moment: the
moment that all design problems can be solved with the technology that is available.
The Innas Free Piston Engine (figure 1) is a successful example of the latter approach.
The engine is the result of an integration of a diesel engine and a hydraulic pump. In this
engine, the piston of the diesel engine is directly connected to the piston of the hydraulic
pump. This combined piston is not connected to any other mechanism and is allowed to
move freely as a result of the free forces that act upon it.
Since the free piston is the only moving component with a high mechanical load, the
mechanical design of the free piston engine is very simple. But there is a price to be paid
for this simplicity. The advantage of using a crank-slider mechanism or another kinematic
principle (like in rotary engines) is that the piston movement is exactly defined. In a free
Achten, page 3
piston engine however, the piston displacement has to be controlled. For that fast, reliable
and cheap sensors, actuators and electronics are needed. These components -needed for
the design of the free piston engine- only came available in recent years.
Therefore it is possible today to construct a diesel hydraulic engine on the basis of the free
piston principle. The engine is smaller and much cheaper [1] than the current
combinations of diesel engines and hydraulic pumps. The fuel consumption and the
maintenance costs are reduced considerably. Also the engine has no cold start problems. It
can fulfil the upcoming emission requirements for mobile machinery (ISO 8178).
This article discusses the key issues in the design of the Innas Free Piston Engine.
frequency control
(FC) valves
compression
accumulator
low pressure
accumulator
high pressure
accumulator
combustion
cylinder
fuel injector
Figure 1: The Innas Free Piston (IFP) Engine
2 Five centuries of free piston engine developments
The mechanical simplicity of the free piston principle appealed the first inventors in the
field of internal combustion engines. In the year 1509, Leonardo da Vinci described a fire
machine in order to raise a body with fire [2]. It is the first description of an engine
with an internal combustion. The described engine worked according to the free piston
principle. It appears that Leonardos internal combustion engine activity remained
restricted to his sketch and note [3]. The 17th century showed an increased research
activity in the field of internal combustion engines. Important are the developments of Sir
Samuel Morland, Christiaan Huygens and Denis Papin. All experiments were carried out
Achten, page 4
with free piston engines [2, 3, 4]. These developments continued in the 18th and 19th
century.
The atmospheric gas engine of Otto and Langen from 1867 combined the free piston
principle and the kinematic principle. The engine marks the cross road between the free
piston engine and the kinematic engines. In 1877 Nicolaus Otto patented his four-stroke
engine. The crank-slider mechanism that was connected to the piston not only made it
possible to operate the engine in a four-stroke mode, but also allowed the compression and
combustion in one and the same cylinder. His concept became the basis of todays
internal combustion engines. Over the years, the development of free piston engines has
continued but -until the development of the IFP-engine- a significant commercial success
has not been accomplished.
3 Kinematic engines
The success of the kinematic engine -with the crankshaft engine as its most important
representative- is easy to understand. The rather complicated mechanism solves a number
of problems. First of all it allows a complete definition and control of the piston
movement. This is very important, since the reliability of the engine operation is
determined by the compression of the combustion gases, and therefore by the pistons
extreme positions ( the so called top and bottom dead centre). Aside from the reliability,
the compression ratio of an internal combustion engine is also the key parameter in
controlling efficiency and emissions.
Figure 2: Crankshaft engine
The mechanical definition of the piston displacement also allowes the synchronisation of
fuel injection (in diesel engines) and ignition (in spark ignition engines) with the piston
position. The timing of the injection and ignition relative to the piston position has an
Achten, page 5
important effect on reliability, efficiency and emissions as well as on the noise level of an
engine.
The crank-slider mechanism also provided an easy means to start the engine -first by hand
and later with the help of an electric starter motor. With respect to the four-stroke engine,
the crank-slider mechanism provided a means to couple a flywheel to the cylinder or to
combine several cylinder-piston-combinations into one machine. The flywheel or the other
pistons provided the energy needed to move the piston during the compression the inlet
and the exhaust stroke. Also in case of a misfire, the other pistons and the flywheel
allowed the engine to continue its operation.
Also important in the history of the internal combustion engine is of course the need to
make the energy available at a rotating axle. The development of hydraulic components
and systems only started in the second half of this century. By that time the crankshaft
engine had achieved a sovereign position in the market and the upcoming hydraulic
industry had no other possibility then to conform to this position.
Finally, the crank-slider mechanism is not too complicated as long as the piston load and
the speed of the engine are not very high. This is different for modern engines, which are
operated at the limit of what is technically and commercial feasible. Important to notice is
also the strong trend to engines with enhanced flexibility of systems control. In modern
spark ignition engines for example, the ignition is no longer mechanically synchronised
with the piston movement but is controlled by means of an electronic system. The same
tendency is clearly seen in diesel engines in which modern fuel injection systems are no
longer mechanically controlled but determined by a system of sensors, electronic control
and injectors and pump with fast response valves. There is even a trend towards variable
valve timing and variable compression ratio control.
4 Free piston engines
The essential characteristic of free piston engines is the lack of a mechanical connection to
the piston. The advantages of the kinematic principle mentioned in the previous paragraph
all become question-marks in the design of the free piston engine:
how to control the piston movement, the compression ratio and the piston
frequency?
how to synchronise injection equipment and other systems with the piston
displacement?
how to start the engine?
how to operate the engine after a misfire?
Achten, page 6
In free piston engines the piston movement is not self-evident. The piston displacement is
determined by the balance of the inertia force of the piston and the free forces that act
upon it. A control of the piston movement therefore means that the free forces have to be
controlled. The development of the IFP engine has shown that this can only be solved with
modern sensors, actuators and electronic controls.
The different physical principles behind the
piston dynamics also lead to a different
piston displacement versus time relation-
ship. Figure 3 shows the piston
displacement, velocity and acceleration for
a free piston engine and a comparable
crankshaft engine.
The comparison clearly shows the big
difference in piston dynamics, especially
around the top dead centre (TDC). At the
TDC the piston acceleration is at its
maximum, for the free piston engine as
well as for the conventional engine. Only
for the free piston engine, the piston
acceleration is up to five times as high.
This is first of all important for the
characteristics of the engine, since many
characteristic (i.e. efficiency, emissions,
noise level, etc.) are determined by the
combustion process, which takes place
around the TDC.
The high acceleration can also be seen in
the velocity curve. In the first millisecond
after the TDC the piston accelerates to a
velocity of around 18 m/s. The mean piston
velocity during the combustion period is 11
m/s, whereas in the crankshaft engine the
mean piston velocity during combustion is
only 2 m/s.
-20000
-10000
0
-20
-10
0
10
0
0.04
0.08
0.12
0.16
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
t [ms]
Free piston engine
crankshaft engine
crankshaft engine
Free piston engine
crankshaft engine
Free piston engine
v

[
m
/
s
]
x

[
m
]
a

[
m
/
s
2
]
TDC
Fig. 3: Piston dynamics (x, v, a) for the IFP engine
and a comparable sized crankshaft engine
But the difference in piston dynamics also has a tremendous effect on the demands for the
fuel injection equipment. A high piston acceleration implicates there is not much time to
ignite and burn the fuel. A short combustion period however is only possible if the fuel is
injected in a short period and if the fuel is atomised into very small droplets. Aside from
this, the testing of the IFP-engine has shown that the timing of the fuel injection has a
Achten, page 7
large influence on the efficiency and emissions of the engine. All these demands can only
be fulfilled with modern fuel injection equipment.
The above comparison of the conventional crankshaft engine with the free piston engine
shows that the mechanical simplicity of the free piston engine is somewhat misleading.
There is a price to be paid for this simplicity: the necessity to control. As long as there are
no technical means to solve the control problems in a way that is economically feasible, it
is impossible to bring the engine on to the market. On the other hand, when the technology
is available, the design of the free piston engine brings a number of advantages that can be
used to facilitate the market introduction.
5 The Innas Free Piston Engine
With the design of the IFP engine it has been proven that the technology, the components
and the materials are available to construct, build and operate a diesel hydraulic engine on
the basis of the free piston principle.
power
take off
low pressure
accumulator
air
intake
exhaust
compression
accumulator
fuel
injection
compression
cylinder
power
cylinder
combustion
cylinder
high pressure
accumulator
Freq.
control
(FC)
valve
Figure 4: hydraulic scheme of the IFP engine
Figure 4 shows a simplified hydraulic scheme of the engine. The compression
accumulator acts as an energy storage (equivalent to the flywheel in a one-cylinder
crankshaft engine). The other two accumulators are necessary to convert the block shaped
delivery of the engine to a flow at a constant pressure level. The engine has a pressure level
Achten, page 8
of 6 to 30 MPa and a maximum flow of 0 to 79 litre/minute. The diameter of the
combustion piston is 104 mm and the piston has (on average) a stroke of 171 mm. The
engine has only one piston in one combustion chamber. The engine can also be
constructed in a larger or smaller size and there are no limitations in the number or types
of engines that can be combined.
6 Control of the piston frequency
The control of the piston stroke has been a key element in the design of the free piston
engine. This control can be classified in a number of items:
control of the piston frequency
control of the compression ratio i.e. the position of the piston in the top dead
centre (TDC)
control of the compression energy that is delivered to the air in the combustion
cylinder during the compression stroke
control of the position of the piston in the bottom dead centre (BDC)
The control of the piston frequency is solved by holding the piston in the BDC. This is
realised by means of one or two small valves (in figure 4 indicated as FC-valves or
frequency control valves). In a closed position, these valves refrain the piston from moving,
since the connection to the compression accumulator is closed. Only when the FC-valves
open, the piston will start to move until it opens a larger connection port to the
compression accumulator. The most important criterion for the FC-valves is the short
opening and closing time, needed for the free piston engine. A shorter response time leads
to a smaller duration between the successive strokes. This leads to a higher maximum
piston frequency and therefore to a higher power density and a lower specific cost price.
However, a small valve has a high flow restriction. Aside from high energy losses the high
restriction would limit the velocity of the piston. This can be shown with the help of a
simple model (figure 5).
Achten, page 9
valve p = Q
2
compression accumulator with pressure p
piston with mass m
compression plunger with area A
F
v(x) =
A pF
( )
1e
2A
3
x
m

A
3

Figure 5: Construction of the compression cylinder without a main port

In that case the maximum velocity of the piston would be limited to:
v
max
=
A p F
A
3

If we consider the fast response valves that are currently available on the market the
restriction parameter has a value of 2 3010
14
Pas
2
/m
6
. With the dimensions and
pressure levels of the IFP engine this would mean a maximum piston velocity of around 2
m/s. Now the velocity of the piston determines the kinetic energy of the piston. For the
combustion part of the free piston engine it is elementary that there is sufficient energy
available for the compression of the combustion air. Since the compression energy has to
come from the kinetic energy of the piston, the piston velocity has to reach a certain critical
limit (provided that also the piston mass cannot become too high). For the IFP engine, the
critical velocity is around 15 m/s. In other words: with the system shown in figure 5 it
would not be possible to operate the engine, since the velocity would not become sufficient
to get an ignition and a combustion of the fuel.
For that reason the IFP engine only uses the FC-valves during the first part of the
compression stroke. Figure 6 shows the principle.
Achten, page 10
x
h
FC valve
compression accumulator
compression piston
x
main port
check valve
Figure 6: Construction of the compression cylinder with a main port
In this construction, patented in 1968 by T.G. Potma [5] the piston opens an opening in
the cylinder wall (the main port) after having travelled a small distance x
h
. The main port
is directly connected to the compression accumulator. Figure 7 shows the effect of this
construction on the piston velocity.
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
0.20 0.16 0.12 0.08 0.04 0
BDC TDC
v
max
without
main port
x
h
v [m/s]
x [m]
Figure 7: Measured piston velocity v versus piston displacement x
Achten, page 11
The graph clearly shows the limiting effect of the FC-valves, as well as the position at
which the piston opens the main port. In figure 7 the dashed line indicates the velocity the
piston would reach if the main port construction would not have been applied.
7 Control of the piston stroke
Aside from the control of the piston frequency it is also essential to control the length of
the piston stroke i.e. the compression ratio of the engine. As in conventional crankshaft
engines, the control of the compression ratio is one of the most important parameters in
controlling the efficiency and emissions of the engine. But also the engine noise level, the
life time and the reliability of the engine are influenced by the compression ratio.
In the IFP engine, the compression ratio depends on the starting position of the piston in
the BDC and the energy delivered to the piston during the compression stroke. This
compression energy is determined by the pressure level of the compression accumulator,
the area of the compression piston and the length of the piston stroke. Since the area of the
compression piston is constant, the two important parameters that control the compression
energy and the compression ratio are the pressure level in the compression accumulator
and the position of the piston in the BDC.
In the IFP engine the control of the compression ratio has a twofold strategy:
the compression ratio is controlled by changing the pressure level in the
compression accumulator;
the BDC-position of the piston is kept as constant as possible.
Whereas in crankshaft engines the compression ratio cannot be changed, the system
applied in the IFP engine allows a very accurate variable control of the compression ratio.
The control of the BDC-position is realised by controlling the length of the expansion
stroke (see figure 8).
The length of the expansion stroke is dependent on the energy balance: the amount of
energy that is delivered to the piston during the combustion process and the following
expansion, has to equal the energy delivered by the piston in the hydraulic pump of the
engine. Since the hydraulic energy is dependent on the displaced hydraulic volume, it is
also related to the length of the expansion stroke.
Achten, page 12
c
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
o
n

s
t
r
o
k
e e
x
p
a
n
s
i
o
n

s
t
r
o
k
e
TDC
A
n
B
n
A
n+1
B
n+1
TDC
0
0.15
0
0.04
0.08
0.12
0.16
t [s]
x

[
m
]
c
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
o
n

s
t
r
o
k
e e
x
p
a
n
s
i
o
n

s
t
r
o
k
e
Figure 8: Measured piston displacement x versus time t (piston frequency = 15 Hz)
TDC = Top Dead Centre (around this position the combustion takes place)
A
n
= position of the piston at the start of the n-th compression stroke
B
n
= position of the piston at the end of the n-th expansion stroke
A
n+1
= position of the piston at the start of the n+1-th compression stroke
B
n+1
= position of the piston at the end of the n+1-th expansion stroke
Therefore there is a relationship between the energy-input at the combustion side of the
engine and the length of the expansion stroke. This relationship is used in the IFP-engine
to control the length of the expansion stroke (figure 9). The piston position at the end of
the expansion stroke is measured and compared with a desired value. If the expansion
stroke is too long the amount of fuel that is injected in the next stroke will be reduced. In
case of a short stroke the amount of fuel injected will be increased.
s
exp
control
Figure 9: Closed loop control of the fuel supply
Achten, page 13
The fuel control system compensates all factors that can disturb the energy balance over
the piston during the expansion stroke:
variation of the fuel quality;
variation of the indicated efficiency, for example as a result of warming up effects
after a cold start
uncontrolled variations of the fuel injection system
variation of the pressure at the hydraulic input and output of the engine
variation of the moment at which the suction valves in the power cylinder close
variation of hydro-mechanical losses, for example due to variation of the oil
viscosity after a cold start.
The result is a stroke length that is not completely constant. Important is to keep the
variations of the stroke length below a certain critical level. Figure 10 shows the variations
measured in the IFP-engine.
5
10
15
20
0
25
f
r
e
q

[
%
]
s
exp
[m]
0
.
1
6
8
0
.
1
7
0
0
.
1
7
2
0
.
1
7
4
0
.
1
6
6
0
.
1
7
6
Figure 10.: Histogram of the BDC position s
exp
of the piston relative to the cylinder head
The fuel control system and the control of the stroke length are essential for a reliable and
efficient operation of the engine. To ensure a reliable operation the IFP engine uses only
binary sensors. These sensors are robust, cheap and give a very simple and reliable signal.
The disadvantage of these simple sensor signals is that they contain only little information.
In the IFP engine however the control is programmed in such a way that these 0/1-signals
are sufficient to control the amount of fuel injected.
8 The fuel system
Achten, page 14
The control of the length of the expansion stroke also has its implications for the fuel
system. Variations of the injected amount of fuel that are not systematic cannot be
compensated in the control of the expansion stroke. This means that the stochastic stroke-
to-stroke variations of the fuel system have a direct influence on the variation of the stroke
length, the compression ratio and -as a consequence- on the efficiency and emissions of
the engine. The fuel injection system therefore must have a high repeatability.
The timing of the fuel injection is another important factor in the operation of the free
piston engine. Tests with the IFP engine for instance have shown an increase of the NO
x
-
emission from 6 gr/kWh to 12 gr/kWh only by changing the start of the fuel injection
from 0.8 ms before TDC to 1.1 ms before TDC. Figure 11 shows the sensitivity of the
NO
x
-emission the soot-emission and the indicated efficiency for the injection timing and
for the pressure level in the compression accumulator.
-1.2 -1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2
130
140
150
160

i
=

4
9
%

i
=

5
0
%
N
O
x
=
6
g
r/k
W
h
i
N
O
x
=
7
g
r/k
W
h
i
F
S
N

=

1
F
S
N

=

0
,
5
t
inj
[ms]
p
c

[
b
a
r
]
I
II
Figure 11.: The influence of the pressure level in the compression accumulator p
c
and the
timing of the start of the fuel injection t
inj
on:
- the indicated efficiency
inj
- the NO
x
emission
- the soot emission in terms of the Filter Soot Number (FSN)
The start of the fuel injection is related to the moment when the piston reaches
the TDC. The measurement data are obtained at the IFP engine equipped with a
fuel injection system of Ganser Hydromag (Zrich). The graph shows that
tighter emission and efficiency demands (area II in stead of area I) implicate a
tighter control of injection timing and pressure level p
c
The free piston engine therefore has a number of very specific requirements for the fuel
injection equipment:
Achten, page 15
precise control of the amount of fuel injected (high repeatability)
very accurate control of the injection timing
the fuel has to be injected in a very short period (within a millisecond)
the fuel has to be atomised into very small droplets
the system cannot be synchronised to the piston position by means of a camshaft.
Until recently, no injection systems were available in accordance to these requirements.
However, in recent years a new generation of fuel injection systems has been introduced
on the market. These new systems have in common that they operate at a higher fuel
pressure level and -in most cases- have an accurate electronic control of the injection
timing. The high fuel pressure allows a short injection period and the fuel can be atomised
into smaller droplets, thus decreasing the period needed for combustion.
For the IFP engine one of the most interesting fuel injection systems is Caterpillars
HEUI system. HEUI stands for Hydraulically-actuated, Electronically-controlled Unit
Injection. The injector itself consists of three sections: a control valve at the top; intensifier,
plunger and barrel in the middle; and the nozzle at the bottom. The intensifier converts the
relatively low pressure level of the oil system to a fuel pressure of up to 1500 bar.
High Pressure Oil Manifold
HEUI
Fuel return Line
Fuel
Filter
Fuel
Transfer
Pump
Fuel
Tank
Oil
Sump
Oil Pump
Oil
Cooler
Oil
Filter
RPCV
ECM
High Pressure
Oil Pump
Figure 12: Caterpillars HEUI system schematic [6].
As shown in the figure above, the system needs a hydraulic pressure system. Since this
hydraulic pressure is already available in the IFP-engine, the HEUI-system fits in very
easy into the design of the IFP engine. The only components needed are one HEUI-
injector per engine, the fuel tank, the fuel transfer pump and the filter. The electronic
control is integrated in the Electronic Control Module of the IFP engine. The IFP-engine
is equipped with this injection system since July 1994. The combination of the HEUI
Achten, page 16
system and the IFP engine allows a total efficiency of around 40%. Emission
measurements indicated that the ISO 8178 emission regulations can easily be met.
9 Engine starting
Cold start is a well known problem with diesel engines. Diesel engines belong to the
family of compression ignition engines: the ignition of the fuel occurs due to the high
pressure and temperature in the cylinder at the end of the compression. The start of a
crankshaft engine is realised by means of an electric starter motor. The problem is that the
rotational speed of the engine at cold start is only 100 to 150 rpm, whereas the minimum
operational speed for a reliable operation is around 1000 rpm. The low rotational speed at
starting causes two problems:
the gas leakage through the gaps of the piston rings (blow by) is high
the slow piston movement leads to higher heat losses.
Both effects lead to a decrease of the cylinder pressure and temperature at the end of the
compression, and therefore to starting problems.
The start of the IFP engine is accomplished with the help of the compression accumulator.
By means of this accumulator, sufficient energy has to be delivered to the gases of the
combustion cylinder. At a cold start, the hydro-mechanical losses are higher, especially
due to the higher viscosity of the oil. These extra losses can be compensated by choosing
a somewhat higher pressure in the accumulator. The pressure is even elevated somewhat
extra to raise the compression ratio a little more at cold start. This compensates the effect
of a longer ignition delay as an effect of the colder combustion air. Aside from this
compensation, the piston movement at cold start is the same as during normal operation.
The cold start problems mentioned above are therefore not relevant for the free piston
engine: the engine starts immediately at cold start without the help of a starting aid.
10 Engine operation after misfire
In internal combustion engines the combustion process changes from cycle to cycle.
Normally the variations are rather small. However there is always a number of cycles in
which the combustion is disturbed in such a way that no combustion occurs.
These so called misfires also occur in the free piston engine. The effect of a misfire is
however different. A misfire means that there is not sufficient energy coming out of the
combustion process to move the piston towards the bottom dead centre (BDC). In a
crankshaft engine, the mechanism moves the piston along its pre-defined trajectory to the
Achten, page 17
BDC and the flywheel or the other pistons take care for the energy needed for a new
compression stroke.
t [s]
A B C D E F
x
0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.20
t
1
t
2
100 ms
Figure 13: Piston displacement x as a function of the time t during the automatic control procedure that takes
the piston back to its starting position in the BDC:
A The piston waits in the BDC
B Stroke with sufficient length
The piston waits for the next command for a new stroke
C Stroke with insufficient length (misfire)
The piston stroke is not long enough to close the main port in the cylinder wall and the piston
is pushed back to the TDC without a start command from the control
D Since the control gives no command to the injection system after a unauthorised compression
stroke there is no combustion energy released. The compressed air and the compressed nitrogen
in the accumulators act as two springs. In between these two springs the piston with its mass
moves in a damped, oscillating movement
E The control activates the return system and the piston is brought back to the BDC
F The piston waits for the new start command
In a free piston engine there is a different facility needed to bring the piston back to the
BDC. In the IFP-engine a ring-shaped plunger is integrated into the design of the
hydraulic part of the engine. A more detailed description of this system can be found in
[7].
Figure 13 shows the resulting piston displacement after a misfire. From the end of a
misfire until the end of the return procedure the power cylinder of the engine delivers no
Achten, page 18
hydraulic power. The duration of this period is about 0.1 second. The engine itself can
however compensate this short period by means of the accumulators. Therefore, the
procedure does not have a noticeable effect on the engine performance.
11 State-of-the-art
It has been proven that today it is possible to construct, build and operate a free piston
diesel-hydraulic engine on the basis of standard available technologies, components and
materials. The engine is compact and light. The high power density and simple
construction result in a low specific price per unit of power ($/kW) [1].
0
10
20
30
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
f

[
H
z
]
t [s]
f = 0.1 Hz t = 7240 ms
t
x
f = 15 Hz t = 34 ms
t
x
f = 5 Hz t = 168 ms
t
x
f = 31 Hz t = 0 ms
t
x
a
b
c
d
Figure 14: Engine transient behaviour in the frequency domain. In the four graphs at the
bottom of the figure the piston displacement curves are drawn for four
different frequencies. These graphs show that the frequency is only
determined by the duration t the piston waits in the BDC.
The engine can deliver its power at different power levels and flows. The flow is only
dependent of the frequency of the engine, i.e. of the time between to successive strokes.
Figure 14 shows as an example the measured frequency as a function of time.
Achten, page 19
The frequency and flow can be changed gradually (for instance from a to b in figure 14).
If needed, the flow can also be decreased or increased in steps. Figure 14 shows the step
response of the engine when going from c to d. To perform this step response it is only
needed to let the control calculate a new pause time t. There is no mechanism involved to
change the frequency and resulting output flow.
It has also been proven that the engine has a high efficiency and low emissions. The
indicated efficiency measured with the Caterpillar HEUI-system is around 49%. The
hydro-mechanical losses can be reduced to 10% which gives a total efficiency of 44%
(0.49 0.9 = 0.441). After compensating this figure for the power consumption of
auxiliaries (like the fuel system) the IFP engine has a net efficiency of 40%. It has been
shown that -for a simultaneous control of efficiency and emissions- a very precise control
of the compression ratio and the injection timing is needed. The state-of-the-art of todays
technology allows a cost effective solution to solve these control problems.
The IFP engine has no starting problems. The variable compression ratio is used to
compensate for the effects of the lower air intake temperature and the lower engine
temperature on the ignition delay. The variable compression ratio and the variable injection
timing are also used to optimise the efficiency and emissions of the engine. There is
competition in the field of free piston engines. The single piston concept, which has been
chosen as the basis for the IFP-engine has however a number of advantages that give it a
clear lead in the competition [8].
12 The art of choosing the right moment
Timing has been a critical factor in the design of the IFP engine. Ten years ago electronic
technologies were not able to fulfil the complicated control tasks of the free piston engine.
Five years ago there were no low-cost, reliable fast response hydraulic valves on the
market. And even three years ago fuel injection systems were still the missing link. Now
all components are on the market and the construction of a free piston engine is more or
less reduced to a clever, but in the end rather simple engineering activity.
The development of the IFP engine is now co-ordinated by a Dutch industrial company
called NOAX BV (NOAX = no axle). The next step will be the production and test of a
number of field test models. For that NOAX co-operates with a small number of
applicants to which NOAX has granted market rights. The test can be seen as the first step
of the market introduction of the IFP engine. It is now up to the actors in the market to
choose the right timing for joining this process. In the end, choosing the right moment is
still an art.
Achten, page 20
References
[1] Achten, P.A.J.; Die Innas-Freikolbenmaschine, 11. Aachener Fluidtechnisches
Kolloquium (1994), IFAS, Aachen
[2] Hardenberg, H.O.; An Historical overview of gunpowder engine development -
1508 - 1868, History of the internal combustion engine (1989), ASME
[3] Hardenberg, H.O.; The antiquity of the internal combustion engine (1993), SAE
Warrendale (rapportnr. SP-977)
[4] Cummins, L.; Internal Fire (1989), SAE, Warrendale
[5] Potma, T.G.; Pump and driving motor assembly (1969), United States patent,
patentnr 3 606 591
[6] Osenga, M.; New Caterpillar fuel system aims to expand markets, applications ,
High Speed Diesels & Drives (March-ASpril 1995), p. 24-27.
[7] Achten, P.A.J.; Potma, T.G.; Free-piston engine having a fluid pressure unit
(1993), PCT patent application, patentnr. PCT/NL92/00211
[8] Achten, P.A.J.; A review of Free Piston Engine concepts (1994), SAE-paper
941776