Project / Leader: 2B - Prof. Eric Barth (Vanderbilt)
Title: Free-piston engine compressor.
Project Goal:
The goal of this project is to develop a compact high energy density pneumatic power supply applicable to untethered fluid-power applications that is an order of magnitude more power dense than existing technologies. This will be achieved by designing, building and testing a free-piston engine utilizing spark-ignited fuel that is specifically load matched to the task of compressing air.
What is the problem?
IC engines as a power source for direct human operated machines/tools has become under greater scrutiny due to noise and exhaust emissions. Meanwhile current alternate power source technologies are not capable of providing extended operation at high power levels for many untethered applications such as turf hand tools, robots, etc. The technology developed from this research thrust will provide a viable solution to the current barriers involving the overall lack of power and energy dense untethered platforms.
How to solve it?
By researching and developing a compact high energy dense compressor that utilizes a free piston engine concept to convert chemical energy to pneumatic power.
