Toyota makes new EV engine
 

More info here: Toyota Designs New Type Of Internal Combustion Engine For Extended-Range EVs

Lots of goodness there- hopefully it gets realized.

Very cool:cool:

Green Car Congress: DLR team develops demonstrator of free-piston linear generator as range extender for EVs; technology transfer to Universal Motor Corp.

Interesting comments, free piston engines are not "new" technology. The INNAS design predates Toyota by at least 4 years.

regards
Mech

Posted on this site in late 2011. There are probably older posts here. Supposedly 56% thermal efficiency.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...l-18815-3.html

regards
Mech

Also, OMG, it's a two stroke. That should bring on a fiery debate, something I have been advocating for a decade.

regards
Mech

I think ring reliability is a problem with two strokes but there's no reason you can't pair up pistons and have a 4 stroke version of this. The potential problem area I see is the magnet, which would be undergoing quite a lot of stress unless the displacement is high and the piston moves relatively slowly, and also cooling (Curie temperature).

I looked at this and first thought was ... 2-stroke diesel pile driver!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7WwmpK3VRE

Cool engine design, but the thread title is oddly worded - this engine would be used in a hybrid car, by definition. It would make sense to have it in a plugin hybrid - and it would be a serial hybrid, by definition.

It bypasses the whole crankshaft / offset vector problem, and it has no camshaft, or valve springs, either. Much lower parasitic losses. I wonder if it uses a magnetic or an air spring to return the piston to TDC? Edit: it is a gas spring - I shoulda' read the whole article.

It does appear to be a 2-stroke but it also has electrically (pneumatically?) actuated valves, so it is unlikely to "leak" unburned fumes out through the exhaust.

More info here: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014...0422-fpeg.html

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogen...fs/30535bf.pdf

15 years ago.

regards
Mech