Simon Wilson setting up the motor control system in the engine test cells
Simon Wilson was in one of my 4th year MEng project groups at Sheffield Uni, and stayed on to read for a PhD with me on Temperature Estimation for Permanent Magnet AC Motors. Simon received an Industrial CASE award from Rolls-Royce Derby for the duration of his study. He can be seen here setting up the DSpace controller which supervises data acquisition and control for the engine.
Simon has subsequently joined EA Technology at Capenhurst as a consultant on new renewables technology.
Ed Winward setting up the control desk Labview front end
Next up is Ed Winward, who was working for Professor Rui Chen at Loughborough University. Ed designed and implemented the entire front-end for the free piston project in Labview (see picture left) which allowed us to start experimentation in earnest.
The best tribute to his part in this project is a YouTube video he made which documents an early run of the Free-Piston Engine
Close up of the Free-Piston Engine, showing timing belt, cam boxes, cylinder head and combustion chamber
After delivery to the engine test cells at Loughborough University AAE dept., it took a significant amount of time to put together the control system instrumentation, and the control architectures necessary to run the engine under Labview, and DSpace.
This part of the story is the people behind developing this part of the project.
First up is Dr Ben Taylor, who at the time was one of my Post-Doctoral researchers at the University of Sheffield Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, and is currently a Research Fellow there in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering. Ben designed and built the 100kW four-quadrant power converter which in the early stages of the project drove the permanent magnet servo-motor attached to the end of the tethering crankshaft. This arrangement allowed us to make the initial development happen relatively safely, without the danger of losing control and blowing up the engine. Later developments are untethered from the crankshaft and truly ‘Free-Piston’
Dr Ben Taylor connecting the 3-phase cables from the power converter to the PMAC servo-motor
Ben also designed the control system for the servo-motor, based around a TI Digital Signal Processor (DSP) which allowed accurate, real-time control of the motor currents, and position/velocity control of the motor, interfaced to a DSpace real-time controller.
Ben subsequently moved on to work for myself and Prof Chris Bingham on a RDA funded project on intelligent heating controls and methods for domestic houses.
The power converter which Ben designed and built is now in use driving the linear electrical machine embedded in the engine, whilst the drive of the crankshaft servo-motor has been take over by a custom designed four-quadrant inverter designed and installed by Control Techniques
Stage 1 development of the free-piston engine: engine and power converter.
Dr Ben Taylor with the control/data acquisition system
Dr Jill Stewart, Senior Lecturer in Thermofluids in the School of Engineering has secured a 3-year KTP grant in collaboration with Napier Turbochargers Lincoln.
The project will develop a design methodology of turbocharger compressor impellers that are resilient to typical manufacturing tolerances thus maintaining efficiency and reducing manufacturing non-conformance cost.
The project is anticipated to commence in August 2011
Napier Turbochargers is a wholly self-owned company, having previously been owned by Siemens Power Generation, specifically Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd being based on the same site in Lincoln when it bought the neighbouring Alstom Power Turbines in March 2003; Alstom (former GEC-Alsthom) had owned the company since GEC bought English Electric in the late 1960s.
Institution of Mechanical Engineers headquarters London
Prof Paul Stewart and Dr Jill Stewart from the School of Engineering in collaboration with Dr Dan Gladwin from the University of Sheffield have been awarded the Charles Sharpe Beecher Prize by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for their 2010 paper
The prize is awarded for the best paper on an aerospace subject published by the Institution in the previous year.
The paper examines the application of Artificial Intelligence techniques to the flight control system of the Lockheed Martin F16 Fighting Falcon. In particular, the modified controller aims to enhance the performance of the flight controller to reduce pilot fatigue during extended combat flight manoeuvres.
The F-16 is a single-engined, supersonic, multi-role tactical aircraft. The F-16 was designed to be a cost-effective combat “workhorse” that can perform various kinds of missions and maintain around-the-clock readiness. It is much smaller and lighter than its predecessors, but uses advanced aerodynamics and avionics, including the first use of a relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire (RSS/FBW) flight control system, to achieve enhanced maneuver performance. Highly nimble, the F-16 can pull 9-g maneuvers and can reach a maximum speed of over Mach 2.
The Prize will be awarded at the Annual General Meeting and Awards Ceremony at the IMechE London headquarters on 17th May 2011
L-R: Kate Bell, Environmental Co-coordinator LCC, Rob Smith, Lincoln Council and Prof chris Bingham, Professor of Energy Conversion Lincoln:Engineering
Staff at the City of Lincoln Council will spend two weeks travelling to external meetings in an electric car, thanks to the University of Lincoln’s School of Engineering and Cenex, the UK’s Centre of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technology.
The electric Smart Fortwo, which has a range of up to 85 miles and can be recharged from a domestic electricity socket, will be used by City Hall staff. The vehicle is being loaned as part of the government’s Smart Move study into the integration of electric vehicles into fleets, which is being managed by Cenex.
Electric cars are a lot cheaper to run than a conventional petrol car and it is estimated that the City Council could save around £50,000 a year based on current fuel prices, if its staff were able to use electric cars for council business.
According to the University’s Professor of Energy Conversion, Chris Bingham, the initiative shows that far from being the technology of the future, electric cars are the here and now.
Already this year Professor Bingham has been joined by a host of motorists who agreed to have their driving styles assessed whilst driving the electric powered car.
“I find that people are always amazed by how smooth the car feels,” said Professor Bingham. “People’s main concern seems to be about running out of battery power, however, research indicates that most journeys around town and to and from work are less than 15 miles for most people. This vehicle has a range of around 70 (nominal) from a single charge but this is dependent on how efficiently the car is driven, so this has been the focus of my recent research.”
Rob Smith, Business Services Team Leader at the City of Lincoln Council, said: “We’re delighted to take part in the Smart Move study and test drive the electric car for two weeks. This will give our staff an insight into the benefits of driving an electric car and, as an organisation, it will give us an idea of whether or not an electric fleet would be beneficial for the council.”
Findings from Professor Bingham’s research will contribute to his study into the impact of driver behaviour on charge conservation in all-electric vehicles, a collaborative venture with CENEX.
