09-03-2011, 02:44 PM
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Air powered cars
Definition
Have you been to the gas station this week? Considering that we live in a very mobile society, it's probably safe to assume that you have. While pumping gas, you've undoubtedly noticed how much the price of gas has soared in recent years. Gasoline which has been the main source of fuel for the history of cars, is becoming more and more expensive and impractical (especially from an environmental standpoint). These factors are leading car manufacturers to develop cars fueled by alternative energies. Two hybrid cars took to the road in 2000, and in three or four years fuel-cell-powered cars will roll onto the world's highways.
While gasoline prices in the United States have not yet reached their highest point ($2.66/gallon in 1980), they have climbed steeply in the past two years. In 1999, prices rose by 30 percent, and from December 1999 to October 2000, prices rose an additional 20 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Europe, prices are even higher, costing more than $4 in countries like England and the Netherlands. But cost is not the only problem with using gasoline as our primary fuel. It is also damaging to the environment, and since it is not a renewable resource, it will eventually run out. One possible alternative is the air-powered car.
Air powered cars runs on compressed air instead of gasoline. This car is powered by a two cylinder compressed engine. This engine can run either on compressed air alone or act as an IC engine. Compressed air is stored in glass or fiber tanks at a pressure of 4351 psi.
Within the next two years, you could see the first air-powered vehicle motoring through your town. Most likely, it will be the e.Volution car that is being built by Zero Pollution Motors.
The cars have generated a lot of interest in recent years, and the Mexican government has already signed a deal to buy 40,000 e.Volutions to replace gasoline- and diesel-powered taxis in the heavily polluted Mexico City.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
These new vehicles incorporate various innovative and novel systems such as storing energy in the form of compressed air, using new materials such as fiberglass to build the car and vegetable oil for the motor lubrication.
Numerous innovations have been integrated in the engine design. As an example, there is a patented system of articulated conrods that allow the piston to pause at top dead center. The following graph indicates this movement of the piston in relation to the driving shaft rotation.
The car engine runs on compressed air and incorporates the three laws of thermodynamics.
1. The first law states that energy can neither be destroyed nor be wasted.
2. The second law describes the disorder within substances.
The third law defines that only in crystals at 0o k, there is absolute disorder
INTRODUCTION
One of the major problems most developing countries facing today is air pollution and the major source of which is automobiles running on road.
Concerning resource availability there has been a strong warning indicating that petroleum resources may be depleted in the relative near future.
gasoline which has been the main source of fuel for the history of cars. It produces carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides and unburned hydrocarbons which are the main pollutants and are responsible for bad effects of pollution.
There comes need to think about alternatives such as Biodiesel and natural gas, Electric cars, Hybrid cars, Hydrogen fuel cells but, these alternative fuels also have some drawbacks.
One possible alternative fuel is the compressed air.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
One of the versions of an air-powered car is being developed by Abe Hertzberg.
The Washington researchers use liquid nitrogen as the propellant for their LN2000 prototype air car.
The researchers decided to use nitrogen because nitrogen makes up about 78 percent of the Earth's atmosphere.
The liquid nitrogen, stored at -320 degrees Fahrenheit (-196 degrees Celsius), is vaporized by the heat exchanger.
But LN2000 had developed some drawbacks like
Reduces the efficiency of the car.
It consumes about 5gallons of nitrogen fuel per mile also it reaches a top
speed of only 22 mph and fails to accelerate up on the hills.
Also the motor operates at less than 20 percent of efficiency.
Thus LN2000 has failed due to lack of power output, performance and
fuel economy.
With the same basic principle the next version of air car has been
developed by Guy Negre.
His used fuel has the compressed air for operating an engine
AIR TANKS
The air tanks in air powered cars are composed of an interior thermoplastic container which ensures it is airtight.
This is held in a coiled and crossed carbon fibre shell.
This technique is the result of many studies into factors such as: mechanical specifications, density of material, choice of fibres etc
The specifications of tank are,
Maximum effective pressure: (300 bars)
Temperature of use: (–40°C to 60°C)
The tanks weigh 35 - 40 kg for 100 liters of air at 300 bars.
The tanks are submitted to numerous tests to meet official approval such as:
1) Pressure testing
2) Rupture testing
3) Cycles at ambient and extreme temperatures
4) Fire-resistance testing
5) Resistance to cuts
6) Shock and fall testing
7) Airtight testing
INVENTION OF AIR POWERED CAR
a. Introduction:
The air car is powered by air engine.
It is an emission free piston engine using compressed air as the fuel.
b. Designers:
It was invented by Guy Nègre, a French engineer; in 1991 started Moteur Development International (MDI) Luxembourg.
Other people that have been working on the idea are Armando Regusci and Angelo Di Pietro.
ENGINE DESIGN
a. Principle:
It uses the expansion of compressed air to drive the pistons in a modified piston engine.
Efficiency of operation is gained through the use of environmental heat at normal temperature to warm the otherwise cold expanded air from the storage tank.
This non-adiabatic expansion has the potential to greatly increase the efficiency of the machine.
b. New Design
The Armando Regusci's version of the air engine has several advantages over the original Guy Nègre's one. In the initial Guy Nègre's air engine, one piston compresses air from the atmosphere, holding it on a small container that feeds the high pressure air tanks with a small amount of air.
c. Redesigning of car:
In July 2004, Guy Nègre abandoned his original design, and showed later a new design where he stated to have it invented back in year 2001, but his new design is identical to the Armando Regusci's air engine which was patented back in 1989 (Uruguay) with the patent number 22976, and back in 1990 (Argentina).
In those same patents, it is mentioned the use of electrical motors to compress air in the tanks.
d. Advantages of “AIR ENGINE”:
Used to power an urban car with room for five passengers and a projected range of about 100 to 200 miles (160 to 320 km), depending on traffic conditions.
Main advantages are: no roadside emissions, low cost technology, engine uses food oil for lubrication (just about 1 litre, changes only every 30,000 miles (50,000 km) and integrated air conditioning.
The tanks may be refilled in about three minutes at a service station, or in a few hours at home plugging the car into the electric grid via an on-board compressor.
MDI CAT’s (MOTEUR DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL COMPRESSED AIR TECHNOLOGY )
a. Technologies:
Single energy compressed air engines:
The single energy engines will be available in both Minicats and Citycats; conceived for city use, maximum speed is 50 km/h and where MDI believes polluting will soon be prohibited.
b. Dual energy compressed air plus fuel engines.
The dual energy engine, has been conceived as much for the city as the open road, available in all MDI vehicles; engines work exclusively with compressed air while running under 50 km/h in urban areas, outside urban areas at speeds over 50 km/h, the engines will switch to fuel mode.
c. Availability of Engine models & Car features:
Both engines will be available with 2, 4 and 6 cylinders.
When the air tanks are empty the driver will be able to switch to fuel mode by using the car’s on board computer.
Instead of normal speed gauges they have a small computer screen that shows the speed and engine revolutions
a. Material:
Unlike the majority of traditional cars on the market, MDI´s vehicle's have fibre glass bodies which makes them light, silent urban car.
The car's body is tubular, light weight, and is held together using aerospace technology.
b. Safety system:
Regarding security, the seatbelt system is different from what we know. One part of the belt is anchored to the floor of the car, like traditional cars.
The other part of the belt, in stead of being attached to the side of the car, is also anchored to the floor of the vehicle. This helps to secure the bodies of the driver and passengers in the case of a collision.
MDI is also considering a system to replace traditional keys. This system would utilize an access card. With this card it would be possible to open the car from a short distance away without having to actually insert anything in the car.
c. Charging methodology:
The recharging of the car will be done at gas stations, once the market is developed; to fill the tanks it will take about to 2 to 3 minutes at a price of 1.5 euros. After refilling, the car will be ready to drive 200 kilometres.
Also has a small compressor that can be connected to an electrical network (220V or 380V) and will recharge the tanks completely in 3 or 4 minutes.
PRINCIPLE OF CAT’S 34 ENGINE
a. Introduction:
The CAT’s 34 Engine is a 4-cylinder engine which will be used in cars in serial production.
It was developed between the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002, uses an innovative system to control the movement of the 2nd generation pistons and one single crankshaft.
The pistons work in two stages: one motor stage and one intermediate stage of compression/expansion.
Air powered cars
Definition
Have you been to the gas station this week? Considering that we live in a very mobile society, it's probably safe to assume that you have. While pumping gas, you've undoubtedly noticed how much the price of gas has soared in recent years. Gasoline which has been the main source of fuel for the history of cars, is becoming more and more expensive and impractical (especially from an environmental standpoint). These factors are leading car manufacturers to develop cars fueled by alternative energies. Two hybrid cars took to the road in 2000, and in three or four years fuel-cell-powered cars will roll onto the world's highways.
While gasoline prices in the United States have not yet reached their highest point ($2.66/gallon in 1980), they have climbed steeply in the past two years. In 1999, prices rose by 30 percent, and from December 1999 to October 2000, prices rose an additional 20 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Europe, prices are even higher, costing more than $4 in countries like England and the Netherlands. But cost is not the only problem with using gasoline as our primary fuel. It is also damaging to the environment, and since it is not a renewable resource, it will eventually run out. One possible alternative is the air-powered car.
Air powered cars runs on compressed air instead of gasoline. This car is powered by a two cylinder compressed engine. This engine can run either on compressed air alone or act as an IC engine. Compressed air is stored in glass or fiber tanks at a pressure of 4351 psi.
Within the next two years, you could see the first air-powered vehicle motoring through your town. Most likely, it will be the e.Volution car that is being built by Zero Pollution Motors.
The cars have generated a lot of interest in recent years, and the Mexican government has already signed a deal to buy 40,000 e.Volutions to replace gasoline- and diesel-powered taxis in the heavily polluted Mexico City.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
These new vehicles incorporate various innovative and novel systems such as storing energy in the form of compressed air, using new materials such as fiberglass to build the car and vegetable oil for the motor lubrication.
Numerous innovations have been integrated in the engine design. As an example, there is a patented system of articulated conrods that allow the piston to pause at top dead center. The following graph indicates this movement of the piston in relation to the driving shaft rotation.
The car engine runs on compressed air and incorporates the three laws of thermodynamics.
1. The first law states that energy can neither be destroyed nor be wasted.
2. The second law describes the disorder within substances.
The third law defines that only in crystals at 0o k, there is absolute disorder
INTRODUCTION
One of the major problems most developing countries facing today is air pollution and the major source of which is automobiles running on road.
Concerning resource availability there has been a strong warning indicating that petroleum resources may be depleted in the relative near future.
gasoline which has been the main source of fuel for the history of cars. It produces carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides and unburned hydrocarbons which are the main pollutants and are responsible for bad effects of pollution.
There comes need to think about alternatives such as Biodiesel and natural gas, Electric cars, Hybrid cars, Hydrogen fuel cells but, these alternative fuels also have some drawbacks.
One possible alternative fuel is the compressed air.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
One of the versions of an air-powered car is being developed by Abe Hertzberg.
The Washington researchers use liquid nitrogen as the propellant for their LN2000 prototype air car.
The researchers decided to use nitrogen because nitrogen makes up about 78 percent of the Earth's atmosphere.
The liquid nitrogen, stored at -320 degrees Fahrenheit (-196 degrees Celsius), is vaporized by the heat exchanger.
But LN2000 had developed some drawbacks like
Reduces the efficiency of the car.
It consumes about 5gallons of nitrogen fuel per mile also it reaches a top
speed of only 22 mph and fails to accelerate up on the hills.
Also the motor operates at less than 20 percent of efficiency.
Thus LN2000 has failed due to lack of power output, performance and
fuel economy.
With the same basic principle the next version of air car has been
developed by Guy Negre.
His used fuel has the compressed air for operating an engine
AIR TANKS
The air tanks in air powered cars are composed of an interior thermoplastic container which ensures it is airtight.
This is held in a coiled and crossed carbon fibre shell.
This technique is the result of many studies into factors such as: mechanical specifications, density of material, choice of fibres etc
The specifications of tank are,
Maximum effective pressure: (300 bars)
Temperature of use: (–40°C to 60°C)
The tanks weigh 35 - 40 kg for 100 liters of air at 300 bars.
The tanks are submitted to numerous tests to meet official approval such as:
1) Pressure testing
2) Rupture testing
3) Cycles at ambient and extreme temperatures
4) Fire-resistance testing
5) Resistance to cuts
6) Shock and fall testing
7) Airtight testing
INVENTION OF AIR POWERED CAR
a. Introduction:
The air car is powered by air engine.
It is an emission free piston engine using compressed air as the fuel.
b. Designers:
It was invented by Guy Nègre, a French engineer; in 1991 started Moteur Development International (MDI) Luxembourg.
Other people that have been working on the idea are Armando Regusci and Angelo Di Pietro.
ENGINE DESIGN
a. Principle:
It uses the expansion of compressed air to drive the pistons in a modified piston engine.
Efficiency of operation is gained through the use of environmental heat at normal temperature to warm the otherwise cold expanded air from the storage tank.
This non-adiabatic expansion has the potential to greatly increase the efficiency of the machine.
b. New Design
The Armando Regusci's version of the air engine has several advantages over the original Guy Nègre's one. In the initial Guy Nègre's air engine, one piston compresses air from the atmosphere, holding it on a small container that feeds the high pressure air tanks with a small amount of air.
c. Redesigning of car:
In July 2004, Guy Nègre abandoned his original design, and showed later a new design where he stated to have it invented back in year 2001, but his new design is identical to the Armando Regusci's air engine which was patented back in 1989 (Uruguay) with the patent number 22976, and back in 1990 (Argentina).
In those same patents, it is mentioned the use of electrical motors to compress air in the tanks.
d. Advantages of “AIR ENGINE”:
Used to power an urban car with room for five passengers and a projected range of about 100 to 200 miles (160 to 320 km), depending on traffic conditions.
Main advantages are: no roadside emissions, low cost technology, engine uses food oil for lubrication (just about 1 litre, changes only every 30,000 miles (50,000 km) and integrated air conditioning.
The tanks may be refilled in about three minutes at a service station, or in a few hours at home plugging the car into the electric grid via an on-board compressor.
MDI CAT’s (MOTEUR DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL COMPRESSED AIR TECHNOLOGY )
a. Technologies:
Single energy compressed air engines:
The single energy engines will be available in both Minicats and Citycats; conceived for city use, maximum speed is 50 km/h and where MDI believes polluting will soon be prohibited.
b. Dual energy compressed air plus fuel engines.
The dual energy engine, has been conceived as much for the city as the open road, available in all MDI vehicles; engines work exclusively with compressed air while running under 50 km/h in urban areas, outside urban areas at speeds over 50 km/h, the engines will switch to fuel mode.
c. Availability of Engine models & Car features:
Both engines will be available with 2, 4 and 6 cylinders.
When the air tanks are empty the driver will be able to switch to fuel mode by using the car’s on board computer.
Instead of normal speed gauges they have a small computer screen that shows the speed and engine revolutions
a. Material:
Unlike the majority of traditional cars on the market, MDI´s vehicle's have fibre glass bodies which makes them light, silent urban car.
The car's body is tubular, light weight, and is held together using aerospace technology.
b. Safety system:
Regarding security, the seatbelt system is different from what we know. One part of the belt is anchored to the floor of the car, like traditional cars.
The other part of the belt, in stead of being attached to the side of the car, is also anchored to the floor of the vehicle. This helps to secure the bodies of the driver and passengers in the case of a collision.
MDI is also considering a system to replace traditional keys. This system would utilize an access card. With this card it would be possible to open the car from a short distance away without having to actually insert anything in the car.
c. Charging methodology:
The recharging of the car will be done at gas stations, once the market is developed; to fill the tanks it will take about to 2 to 3 minutes at a price of 1.5 euros. After refilling, the car will be ready to drive 200 kilometres.
Also has a small compressor that can be connected to an electrical network (220V or 380V) and will recharge the tanks completely in 3 or 4 minutes.
PRINCIPLE OF CAT’S 34 ENGINE
a. Introduction:
The CAT’s 34 Engine is a 4-cylinder engine which will be used in cars in serial production.
It was developed between the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002, uses an innovative system to control the movement of the 2nd generation pistons and one single crankshaft.
The pistons work in two stages: one motor stage and one intermediate stage of compression/expansion.
