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combustion engines?
In opposed-piston engines (OP) pistons are arranged in such a way that two pistons
are reciprocating opposite to each other, both working in one cylinder. Most often
such machines work as 2-stroke engines. A combustion chamber is formed between
pistons near the top dead centre. There are no classical poppet valves, scavenging
(the process of pushing fumes out of the cylinder and taking in a fresh charge) is
usually controlled by piston-ported valves.
The classical 4-stroke engine with a crankshaft has been used and developed for
more than 130 years which proves its universality and timelessness. Why would one
change such a well-tested design? In this section we would like to point out the most
significant advantages of the classical engines.
The present paper is a part of research which received funding from the Polish-Norwegian Re-
search Program operated by the National Centre of Research and Development under the Norwegian
Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 in the frame of Project Contract No Pol-Nor/199058/94
Warsaw University of Technology
176 PhD Interdisciplinary Journal
Uniflow scavenging gives the best trapping efficiency and scavenging efficiency
indicators, maximizing the use of the engine displacement filled with a fresh charge.
If there is no opposed piston valves in the cylinder head need to be used, for an
opposed-piston engine uniflow scavenging is a natural decision.
Fig. 2. Scavenging methods from the left: cross flow, loop, uniflow with poppet valves,
uniflow in opposed piston.
factor bearing friction increases proportionally to larger forces (larger piston area,
same pressure). In OP engines the stroke is split between two pistons, which gives
high S/B without increasing mean piston speed (the lower the speed, the better the
efficiency).
2.6. Multifuel technology
Multifuel engines are particularly interesting for the military in case of main fuel
shortage, but there is also a wide potential in non-military usage like distributed
generation or emergency power generators. To be able to run on multiple fuels the
engine must meet two basic conditions:
Variable Compression Ratio (VCR), permits firing fuel with the highest octane
rating;
it must be strengthened to withstand widely changing working conditions (the
temperature from burning biogas is different from one from aviation fuel).
Both of these conditions are met in OP engines. VCR is incomparably easier to
adapt in OP than in conventional engines, where a moving cylinder head or compli-
cated shaft system must be adapted. Also, fewer moving parts, simple combustion
chamber shape and a more compact design make them more robust and durable.
2.7. High power-to-bulk ratio, high reliability and low maintenance
Fewer moving parts mean fewer potential failures, and that means lower maintenance
cost. System weight and cost comparison between standard constructions and an
opposed-piston engine in various configurations according to Pirault and Flint (2010):
Fig. 4. 5-cylinder opposed-piston barrel engine (wobble plate blocked by bevel gear).
when properly designed, can greatly increase mechanical efficiency by reducing piston-
cylinder side force by 50 80 %.
5.1. FairDiesel
A UK company established in 2000 is developing an opposed-piston, barrel engine.
The linear-to-rotary motion is possible by using a non-sinusoidal cam mechanism.
Their main aim is to produce engines for industrial and aviation use. According to
Diesel (2010) they are designing from a 2-cylinder up to a 32-cylinder version (120
kW 24 MW).
5.4. AchatesPower
A USA company founded in 2004, started engine testing in 2005, received a DARPA
contract to design a light-weight, compact UAV engine in 2007, in 2014 reached 5000
hours of dynamometer testing. They are developing a 2-stroke, 3-cylinder, OP diesel
engine (205 kW power). What is interesting, they have a single cylinder engine on
dyno and using a GT-Power interface simulate a 3-cylinder engine response (Power,
2014).
We believe there are three main areas where opposed piston can win the competition.
184 PhD Interdisciplinary Journal
References
Diesel, Fair (2010), http://www.fairdiesel.co.uk/.
EcoMotors (2014), http://www.ecomotors.com/.
Engines, Pinnacle (2014), http://pinnacle-engines.com/.
Fehrenbacher, Katie (2013), http://gigaom.com/.
Mazuro, Pawe, Tadeusz Rychter and Andrzej Teodorczyk (2007), Piston engines
with cylinder axis parallel to drive shaft axis - classification and review, Journal
of KONES Powertrain and Transport 13(3).
Merker, G. P. and M. Gerstle (1997), Evaluation on two stroke engines scavenging
models, SAE Paper 970358 .
Niewiarowski, Kazimierz (1983), Tokowe silniki spalinowe, Wydawnictwa Komu-
nikacji i cznoci, Warszawa.
Pirault, Jean-Pierre and Martin Flint (2010), Opposed Piston Engines: Evolution,
Use, and Future Applications, SAE International, Warrendale.
Power, Achates (2014), http://www.achatespower.com/.
Sher, E. (1989), Modeling the scavenging process in the two-stroke engine - an
overview, SAE Paper 890414 .