Automotive technology with a pneumatic motor powered by compressed air

About ten years ago I heard the news that an Indian automaker is planning to mass-produce a small car, the engine of which will be driven by compressed air stored in cylinders.

Since that time, I was not interested in how the project developed. I propose to look at this technology and think about whether it can be applied for use in gas powered tools and any small mechanization (walk-behind tractors, snow blowers, etc.)

It was about an Indian car manufacturer Tata motors:

Car Tata OneCAT. Features: vehicle weight 350 Kg, power reserve with one compressed air filling - up to 100 km. Pressure in 4 CFRP cylinders (total 400 l) - 300 atm. Time of filling with compressed air from a stationary compressor station - up to 4 minutes.

Air filling is provided from the built-in compressor (from the socket). But at the same time, the filling time will be 4 hours.

Gearbox, no transmission. The engine delivers high torque from the bottom. Service - oil change every 50 thous. km. (1 liter of oil). Engine weight total 35 kg at volume 700 cm3. Power - about 20 hp

The idea of ​​the engine belongs not to Indian developers, but to the engineer and designer of pneumatic starters for Formula 1 cars - Guy Negro.

More details: https://os1.ru/article/5670-vmesto-benzina-vozduh

How does the engine work? After all, it is known that when compressed air expands, it cools. And at the same time, condensation may form in the engine and it will be covered with drizzle. Made like this: the engine has 4 cylinders. Two large (working) and two small (for air compression). Atmospheric air is compressed, heated in small cylinders and fed into the working cylinders, where it is mixed with air from the cylinders. This equalizes the temperature and condensation does not form.

The efficiency of such an engine is 20%. Half the size of a diesel internal combustion engine. Decrease in power at negative temperatures - by 10% when the temperature reaches minus 10 grams. The exhaust air is cold (down to -15 g) and can be used to cool the passenger compartment in hot weather. Heating can be done with electricity generated by the generator. Or from a heat pump (air conditioner in a reverse cycle) - as on the latest Tesla electric vehicles.

The Tata OneCAT was supposed to be used in a city taxi. I don't know if this project is successful, but the idea is very interesting. Tata also has compact cars - Tata AIRPOD:

This is a three-seater taxi car with joystick controls (like in Bobcat). Speed ​​- up to 70 km / h. Balloon 175 l enough for 200 km mileage. The balloon is located between the passengers and the driver. Refueling cost - 1 Euro.

Another model Tata motors:

Tata MiniCAT (MDI). Three-seater single-row car. Power reserve - 200 km. Speed ​​- up to 110 km / h. Cost - up to 4000 $.

There are other examples of air motor technology. One of them is a motorcycle:

Motocross bike O2 Pursuit Australian Dean Bensted. Chassis from Yamaha WR250F. Speed ​​- up to 140 km / h Mileage - up to 180 km. Engine weight: 10 Kg

In general, any internal combustion engine can be converted into an air motor running on compressed air in a couple of hours. To do this, replace the camshaft of the valve mechanism and connect compressed air cylinders. Alteration of the classics from VAZ in the video:

Two 40 l the balloon is enough for 10 km. Which is quite convincing for a demonstration of technology.

You can also remake a walk-behind tractor. The balloon will be a weighting agent. Only the camshaft for each engine needs a different design.

In principle, you can try to remake the two-stroke engines of gasoline-powered tools. Moreover, the muffler and carburetor are removed. The space is freed up for the balloon. If the operating time is comparable to the operating time at one gas station, this is more than enough. There is only one inconvenience - you need a compressor for filling with air. But the cost of operating the tool is reduced.

What will the pneumatic drive give? Low costs for engine operation, maintenance and repair. Environmental friendliness. Less noise. Increased engine resource.

The disadvantage is that the compressor needs to be carried with you and you need access to the electrical network.

***

Subscribe to the channel, add it to your browser bookmarks (Ctrl + D). There is a lot of interesting information ahead.