free piston steam generator

-wet steam rankine cycle

-exhaust valve actuation with gasforces generated by power piston

-exhaust valve detain with small magnet (iron invisible, detain in both dead centers)

-voice coil linear generator

-airspring moves piston back to cylinderhead

-microchip controlled solenoid steam intake valve

Reason:
- free piston diesel/petrol engine is hard to control, either combustion and position
- Machine for harvesting waste energy of a conventional ICE
- better efficiency than thermocouple
- no usage of rare materials

People who are interested, should also have a look at the lion microgenerator. An animation is available here, sadly only in german:

http://www.otag.de/de/lion-powerblock/Funktion-Animation.php

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• free
• piston
• steam
• engine

[bsvidieo]

You may be onto something very important here. I have been thinking how to create a simple free piston expander/generator, ever since i saw the internal workings of an Engel fridge compressor.

You have resolved the valving requirements in a innovative way (i like the airspring idea) and have come to the same compromising point that i have regularly reached- the use of electronics to control injection timing.

Have you prototyped it yet?

[io9487]

@bsvidieo

Thanks for your interest!

I made this model a week ago, it's my second engine i designed. This is the first model, I won't builld it. I first want to model a opposed piston version, of which I want to build only one half. I will start to build the project in march. I am still collecting parts, I have to build it cheap cause am am a student and I only own a very small lathe. continiued...

[io9487]

@bsvidieo ...continued

The prototype injection control will be quite simple. A Schmidt Trigger combined with a capcitor and some resistors make a simple timer, the solenoid of the injector will get current for a predetermed time of this circuit (over a IRF 4110 mosfet). This simple timer is also used in the "Jamgfreie Schaltung" (which means jam surpressing circuit) for airsoft compressor. continuied

[io9487]

@bsvidieo ..continued

If the pressure in the inlet is has risen to a determed value (maybe 100bar) a pressure sensor says the controller "work pressure reached". The injector will then inject for the determed time. After the return of the piston it will wait until the pressure has risen again.

If you are interested, i can send you a plan of the timing/injection circuit. The whole control circuit isn't done yet.

[donmaguire]

@io9487 If you only build half it will vibrate a lot.

[frankydevaere]

Looks like the" lion powerblock". But this one seems better. Congrats !