Analysis and testing of internal combustion engine driven linear alternator

Abstract

Introduction. Internal combustion engine technology has been considered for the alternator system in the last two decades. Especially when considering fuel diversity, reliability, portability, power density, research studies are increasing day by day. In this respect, interest has been focused on linear generator studies. Purpose. The goal of the research is to investigate the performance of a linear generator and its application to generate electrical energy from an internal combustion engine to solve the range problem of small electric powered vehicles. The generator, unlike a traditional generator, consists of a linear generator with a crank mechanism driven by an internal combustion engine. Originality. The configuration of the linear generator with internal combustion engine crank has not previously been reported. Methods. The numerical solution of the generator was carried out by the finite element method in the Ansys Maxwell software in a cylindrical coordinate system. The effect of stroke length and frequency on voltage and output power was investigated by monitoring an external electrical load. A prototype linear generator has been designed and produced considering the sizing dimensions. The configuration can be used in power-hungry applications and increase the range of small electric vehicles. Results. The results from simulation and practice are largely in agreement. Practical value. A practical mechanical system was built comprising a linear generator connected to a 2.2 kW internal combustion engine via a crank connecting rod for analysis.

Review of Mechanical, Electrochemical, Electrical, and Hybrid Energy Storage Systems Used for Electric Vehicles

“…[73]. For example, Arslan [74] obtained electrical energy by driving a linear generator with an internal combustion engine to solve the range problem of small EVs.…”

Linear generator design for concentrating solar power technologies: Optimization and prototype development

“…Note that self‐inductance is high and mutual inductance is low. Output power can be increased by compensating inductance with a series capacitor [9–41].…”

“…In the Stirling engine, the factors affecting power and efficiency can be listed as dead volume, adiabatic cycle, thermal losses, thermal conduction, convection and radiation losses, heat-changing temperature potential, imperfect regeneration, mechanical losses, and frictions [8]. Besides, iron, copper, and other losses occur in the generator [7,9].…”

“…In these generators, the output power increases both stroke length and working frequency [39]. By adding a tuning capacitor in series, reactance can be changed into resonance [9,40]. Also the inner diameter and thickness of the magnet have been investigated in relation to the change of the moving weight [39].…”

“…The decomposition-based multi-objective differential evolution particle swarm method was applied for tube-type generator [48]. In our other previous studies [9,35,47], piston-free engines were analysed and designed for tube-type linear generators. Although it is a traditional method, there is no three-phase 3/2 slot/pole ratio linear machine for short or stroke applications in the literature.…”