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AIR CAR
Abstract
The Air car is a car currently being developed and, eventually, manufactured by Moteur Developpement International (MDI), founded by the French inventor Guy N gre! It "ill be sold by this company too, as "ell as by #ev$at, a %& company, based in $alifornia! The air car is po"ered by an air engine, specifically tailored for the car! The used air engine is being manufactured by $'FD (ir solution, a company closely lin)ed to MDI! The engine is po"ered by compressed air, stored in a glass or carbon*fibre tan) at +,-- psi! The engine has in.ection similar to normal engines, but uses special cran)shafts and pistons, "hich remain at top dead center for about /-0 of the engine1s cycle2 this allo"s more po"er to be developed in the engine! Though some consider the car to be pollution*free, it must be ta)en into account that the tan)s are recharged using electric (or gasoline) compressors, resulting in some pollution, if the electricity used to operate the compressors comes from polluting po"er plants (such as gas*, or coal*po"er plants)! &olar po"er could possibly be used to po"er the compressors at fuel station!
References
3! 4evin 5onsor (6--,*3-*6,)! 7o" (ir*8o"ered $ars 9ill 9or)! 7o"&tuff9or)s! :etrieved on 6--;*-,*6,! 6! :obyn $urno" (6--+*-3*33)! Gone "ith the "ind! The &unday Times (%4)! :etrieved on 6--;*-,*6,!
AIR CAR
(s the pressurised air e<pands, it is cooled, "hich limits the efficiency! This cooling reduces the amount of energy that can be recovered by e<pansion, so practical engines apply ambient heat to increase the e<pansion available! $onversely, the compression of the air by pumps (to pressurise the tan)s) "ill heat the air! If this heat is not recovered it represents a further loss of energy and so reduces efficiency! &torage of air at high pressure re>uires strong containers, "hich if not made of e<otic materials "ill be heavy, reducing vehicle efficiency, "hile e<otic materials (such as carbon fibre composites) tend to be e<pensive! ?nergy recovery in a vehicle during bra)ing by compressing air also generates heat, "hich must be conserved for efficiency! It should be noted that the air engine is not truly emission*free, since the po"er to compress the air initially usually involves emissions at the point of generation!
This most recent development using pressuri@ed air as fuel in an engine "as invented by Guy N gre, a French engineer! In 3AA3 the inventor Guy N gre started up Moteur Developpement International (MDI), Bu<embourg and invented a dual*energy engine running on both compressed air as on regular fuel! From this moment on he managed to create a compressed air only*engine, and improved his design to ma)e it more po"erful! In the 3, years he1s been "or)ing on this engine, considerable progress has been made= the engine is no" claimed to be competitive "ith modern I$?s! It is probably still not as po"erful as an I$? (although depending on "hich model of air engine vs model I$?)! 8roponents claim that this is of little importance since the car can simply be made lighter, or the tan)s be put on a higher pressure (psi*level), pushing the engine to above a comparable I$?* engine! Cther people that have been "or)ing on the idea are (rmando :egusci and (ngelo Di 8ietro! They too have companies, :ugusci started up :egusci (ir and Di 8ietro started up ?ngine (ir! They are selling their engines!
Fig 3! (n MDI $(T car :egarding security, the seatbelt system is different from "hat "e )no"! Cne part of the belt is anchored to the floor of the car, li)e traditional cars! The other part of the belt, in stead of being attached to the side of the car, is also anchored to the floor of the vehicle! This helps to secure the bodies of the driver and passengers in the case of a collision! MDI is also considering a system to replace traditional )eys! This system "ould utili@e an access card! 9ith this card it "ould be possible to open the car from a short distance a"ay "ithout having to actually insert anything in the car! In the single energy mode MDI cars consume less than one euro every 3--4m! (around -!/, ?uros) that is to say, 3- time less than gasoline po"ered cars! 9hen there is no combustion, there is no pollution! The vehicle1s driving range is close to t"ice that of the most advanced electric cars (from 6-- to F-- )m or J hours of circulation) This is e<actly "hat the urban mar)et needs "here, as previously mentioned, J-0 of the drivers move less than ;-4m! a day! The recharging of the car "ill be done at gas stations, once the mar)et is developed! To fill the tan)s it "ill ta)e about to 6 to F minutes at a price of 3!, euros! (fter refilling the car "ill be ready to drive 6-- )ilometres!
Fig 6!$(TLs F+ ?ngine This engine "as developed bet"een the end of 6--3 and the beginning of 6--6! It uses an innovative system to control the movement of the 6nd generation pistons and one single cran)shaft! The pistons "or) in t"o stages= one motor stage and one intermediate stage of compressionGe<pansion!
Fig F! Detailed vie" of the MDI engine The engine has + t"o*stage pistons, i!e! J compression andGor e<pansion chambers! They have t"o functions= to compress ambient air and refill the storage tan)s2 and to ma)e successive e<pansions (reheating air "ith ambient thermal energy) thereby approaching isothermic e<pansion! Its steering*"heel is e>uipped "ith a ,)9 electric moto*alternator! This motor is simultaneously= the motor to compress air, the starting motor, the alternator for recharging the battery an electric moderatorGbra)e, a temporary po"er supply (e!g! for par)ing) !
Fig ,! The engine "hich "ill be fitted in the MDI cars in serial production!
Articu#ated con,rod
The MDI con*rod system allo"s the piston to be held at Top Dead $entre for /-0 of the cycle! This "ay, enough time is given to create the pressure in the cylinder! The tor>ue is also better so the force e<erted on the cran)shaft is less substantial than in a classic system!
-ear bo.
Moto,a#ternator
The moto*alternator connects the engine to the gearbo<! It has many functions= It supports the $(TKs motor to allo" the tan)s to be refilled! (s an alternator it produces bra)e po"er! It starts the vehicle and provides e<tra po"er "hen necessary!
Fig J!&pecial machines ma)ing the tubular shell The tan)s used in the $(TKs vehicles should last for a period of fifteen years, to be tested every five years and are sub.ect to "ear and tear according to conditions of use! The tan)s "eigh F, * +- )g for 3-- litres of air at F-- bars! In the Mini$atKs the tan)s "eigh /- * J- )g! For e<tra security, a protective plate is fi<ed underneath the vehicleKs chassis and in addition limits access to the circuit of high pressure air! There is also an e<traction system to deal "ith "ater produced by condensation!
c) The body
The MDI car body is built "ith fibre and in.ected foam, as are most of the cars on the mar)et today! This technology has t"o main advantages= cost and "eight! No"adays the use of sheet steel for car bodies is only because of cost * it is cheaper to serially produce sheet steel bodies than fibre ones! 7o"ever, fibre is safer (it doesnKt cut li)e steel), is
e) The $hassis
5ased on its e<perience in aeronautics, MDI has put together highly*resistant, yet light, chassis, aluminium rods glued together! %sing rods enables to build a more shoc)* resistant chassis than regular chassis! (dditionally, the rods are glued in the same "ay as aircraft, allo"ing >uic) assembly and a more secure .oin than "ith "elding! This system helps to reduce manufacture time!
f) ?lectrical system
Guy N gre, inventor of the MDI (ir $ar, ac>uired the patent for an interesting invention for installing electrics in a vehicle! %sing a radio transmission system, each electrical component receives signals "ith a microcontroller! Thus only one cable is needed for the "hole car! &o, instead of "iring each component (headlights, dashboard lights, lights inside the car, etc), one cable connects all electrical parts in the car! The most obvious advantages are the ease of installation and repair and the removal of the appro<imately 66 )g of "ires no longer necessary! 9hats more, the entire system becomes an anti*theft alarm as soon as the )ey is removed from the car!
C"aracteristics( (irbag, air conditioning, ; seats! Dimensions= 9eight= Ma<imum speed= Mileage= Ma< load= :echarge time= :echarge time= F!J+m, 3!/6m, 3!/,m /,- )g 33- )mGh 6-- * F-- )m ,-- 4g + hours (Mains connector) F minutes ((ir station)
4!ecifications( (irbag, air conditioning, (5&, 6 seats, 3!, mF! Dimensions= 9eight= Ma<imum speed= Mileage= Ma<imum load= :echarging time= :echarging time= F!J+m, 3!/6m, 3!/,m /,- )g 33- )mGh 6-- * F-- )m ,-- 4g + hours (Mains connector) F minutes ((ir station)
4!ecifications( (irbag, air conditioning, ; seats! Dimensions= 9eight= Ma<imum speed= Mileage= Ma<imum load= :echarging time= :echarging time= F!J+m, 3!/6m, 3!/,m /,- )g 33- )mGh 6-- * F-- )m ,-- 4g + hours (Mains connector) F minutes ((ir station)
4!ecifications( (irbag, air conditioning, 6 seats! Dimensions= 9eight= Ma<imum speed= Mileage= Ma<imum load= :echarging time= :echarging time= F!J+m, 3!/6m, 3!/,m /,- )g 33- )mGh 6-- * F-- )m ,-- 4g + hours (Mains connector) F minutes ((ir station)
e%Mini Cats
4!ecifications( (irbag, air conditioning, (5&, F seats, 3!, mF! Dimensions= 9eight= Ma<imum speed= Mileage= Ma<imum load= :echarging time= :echarging time= 6!;,m, 3!;6m, 3!;+m /,- )g 33- )mGh 6-- * F-- )m 6/- 4g + hours (Mains connector) F minutes ((ir station)
6.Co
ercia#i7ation
(s soon as the MDI engines and vehicles are commercially viable ("ithin 3*F years, depending on the version) they "ill have a mar)et, "ith very limited competition, if any, for an estimated period of 3-*3, years! The commercial strategy is currently concentrated on the urban mar)ets, "ith products including ta<is, delivery vans and pic)up truc)s!
5ased on a ne" concept of local vehicle production and sales, MDI promote regional manufacturing license rights in the form of franchised turn)ey factory
Fig A! Cn*road trials of the MDI ta<i To manage the development process successfully, MDI has contracted its product research and development activities to $'FD (ir &olution, a company based in 5rignoles, France! 7ere, under the direction of Guy Negre, some F- engineers and technicians have at their disposal the most modern e>uipment for engine and vehicle development, testing and production, supported by the latest in information technology!
The company says the cars "ill initially go on sale in France, "here the first assembly line is due to start production in the middle of ne<t year!
9.Conc#usion
The air car "hich is the result of a long research and development is a clean, easy to drive, high performance car! MDI has achieved "hat the large car manufactures have promised in a hundred years time! The end product is a light "eight vehicle that can reach speeds up to 66- )mGh (even though the legal limit is 36-), a product that does not pollute li)e t"entieth century vehicles and does not ta)e a lifetime to pay off! ?ssentially, MDI has developed a modern, clean, and cheap car that meets most peopleLs needs! The principle advantages for an air po"ered vehicle are=
Fast recharge time Bong storage lifetime (electric vehicle batteries have a limited useful number of cycles, and sometimes a limited calendar lifetime, irrespective of use)! 8otentially lo"er initial cost than battery electric vehicles "hen mass produced!