Free piston engine generator: Technology review and an experimental evaluation with hydrogen fuel

Free piston engine generators which utilize a free piston engine and a linear generator are under investigation by a number of research groups around the world. Free piston engines give power output in a more efficient way when compared to conventional crankshaft engines, because the former do not have a crank mechanism which brings about additional mechanical loss. However, for the reliable and stable operation of the free piston engine generators, it is required to have a viable control system to address the uncertainty of piston motion. In this paper, most of the successful free piston engine generator developments were reviewed and a recent experimental result on a prototype free piston system was also presented with regard to engine performance with different mixture preparation strategies.