16MO1: Free Piston Engine Based on Off-Road Vehicles

Project Leader: Zongxuan Sun, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Institution: University of Minnesota

This project will investigate the design, control, and testing of a hydraulic free piston engine for off-road vehicles to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

The goal of the project is to provide an efficient, clean and flexible fluid power source for mobile application, including both on-road vehicles and off-road heavy machineries. Due to its compact architecture, small inertia, high power density and ultimate freedom on the piston motion, the hydraulic free-piston engine (HFPE) is selected as the solution to achieve the aforementioned objective.

To see what’s new with this project click here.

The award period for this CCEFP research project ended June 30, 2018.  For results, impacts, and future opportunities, please contact the project leader.