Toyota presented its new engine prototype, the Free Piston Engine Generator (FPEG) at the SAE world Congress in Detroit. This engine was designed to make range-extended electric vehicles run better by producing electricity more efficiently.
Some range-extended electric vehicles can't keep a safe highway speed because they are incapable of maintaining an adequate battery charge. Toyota is attempting to discontinue that struggle with this new engine. When two FPEGs are used together, they can produce enough electricity for Corolla-sized car to cruise at 75mph.
The FPEG uses a single gas-filled chamber where the piston moves back and forth instead of a traditional crankshaft. The compressed gas behaves like a spring and returns the piston after the expansion and combustion stages are completed.
The piston resides in a combustion chamber right in the center of a W shape. Using a two-stroke cycle, the burned gas is removed through a port in the head of the cylinder, while fresh air arrives through a port in the side wall.
The outward segments of the W shape contain magnets, producing an electric charge as they move past the coils on the outer walls of the chamber. This powers the battery.
To find out more about electric vehicles or other Toyotas, visit our Owings Mills, MD dealership. Here at R & H Toyota, we will gladly share specs or set up a test drive.
