SBIR Phase I: Novel position sensor and controller for free piston engines

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to assist in the commercialization of a new type of engine. Macro-scale vehicle electrification has opened doors to new types of engines not previously practical. Amongst the most interesting of these is the free-piston engine. Free-piston engines (FPE) and Free-piston linear generators (FPLG) are well-suited to electrification because they directly produce electricity instead of torque and do it in a way that is cleaner, more efficient, and better suited to work with advanced electrified vehicles. These engines are inherently more capable of running on a diversity of fuels to enhance both low-carbon fuel consumption and US energy independence. Key to this technology is advanced controls and development of new sensors. This project focuses on development of a new sensor whose lack is a key roadblock to the commercialization of these advanced engines. This new sensor will be employed immediately in the laboratory and test vehicle development of these engines. This STTR Phase I project proposes to develop the framework of a new integrated circuit (IC) that will enable the mass adoption of clean, efficient free-piston engines. In order to realize practical free-piston engines a position sensor able to measure piston position to 0.1micron (4 millionths of an inch) and up to speed of 30m/s (over 1000 inch/second) is needed. Currently there is no sensor that gives the required speed and precision. The sensors that are close in functionality are large devices that nearly double the length of the engine. The proposed sensor must survive in the harsh thermal and vibration environment of an engine. In phase 1 the company will build a proof of concept from available discrete circuits; to build the actual custom IC in phase II. This sensor will be combined with distributed high-speed computation allowing high-speed piston control at a rate of greater than 10kHz. This IC will serve additional secondary markets for other fast, high power linear machines in robotics and factory automation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.