Effect of piston dynamic on the working processes of an opposed-piston two-stroke folded-cranktrain engine

An opposed-piston two-stroke folded-cranktrain diesel engine was studied in this paper. In order to achieve asymmetric scavenging, asymmetric angle between two crank throws were designed. However asymmetric crank-throw angle has direct effect on the piston dynamic, which affects engine performance. This paper investigated the characteristics of the piston dynamic on an opposed-piston two-stroke folded-cranktrain diesel engine; effects of the asymmetric angle on the piston displacement, velocity and acceleration were analyzed; further researches were done to studied the effect of piston dynamic on the gas exchange performance and in-cylinder performance. The results show that, larger asymmetric angle is positive for the scavenging efficiency but negative for combustion. The 8.5° CA asymmetric angle showed better fuel economical and IMEP due to better mix and combustion at 2200 r/min, while the 6° CA asymmetric angle showed better fuel economical and IMEP due to better scavenging efficiency at 1000 r/min.