AIR POWERED ENGINE.

A compressed air engine creates a useful work by expanding compressed air. A compressed-
air vehicle is an example of a machine using compressed air engine, it’s powered by an air engine
using

compressed air which is stored in a tank. Instead of mixing of mixing fuel with air and burning it in
the engine to drive piston with hot expanding gases, compressed air vehicles (CAV) use the
expansion of compressed air to drive their piston. They have existed in many forms over the past
two centuries, ranging in size from hand held turbines up to several hundred horsepower. For
example, the first powered submarine , the 1863 plongeur used a compressed air engine.

The law of physics dictate that unconstrained gases will fill any given space. The easiest way
to see this in action is to inflate a balloon. The elastic skin of the balloon holds the air tightly inside,
but the moment you use a pin to create a hole in the balloon’s surface, the balloon expands outward
with so much energy that the balloon explodes. Compressing a gas into a small space is a way to
store energy. When the gas expands again, the energy is released to do work. That is the basic
principle behind what makes an air car go.

The Workability Of An Air Powered Car.

Tata Motors and Motor Development International’s (MDI) development of the
revolutionary air powered car features an aluminum body to maximize fuel efficiency. This
technology is rapidly progressing and could be on market within just a few years, providing a
new way to run vehicles without relying on the internal combustion of petrol. Instead, the
car has a two cylinder compressed air engine. Compressed air is stored in the tanks at a
pressure of around 4300 psi.to power the vehicle the engine uses a piston to draw in air
from the environment into the tanks at compress it initially to about 300 psi. A small
amount of the air is then released into an expansion chambers in the moment before the
exhaust valve opens. The pressure differential between the two chambers creates a shock
wave, which moves energy to the exhaust cylinder that in turn drives a piston to power the
car.
Figure: 1.0 compressed air system by Dr. Reza Alizade Evrin from Ontario Tech Universty .
 Figure: 1.2 Compressed air system with a PCM heat exchanger prototype diagram

The Science Of Compressed Air Car.

The science of air powered vehicle draws on the rule of thermodynamics including
the conservation of energy and the laws related to entropy. In this way the compressed air
acts similarly to mechanical spring, storing energy that then can be released to power the
engine. In this way the compressed air acts similarly to a mechanical spring, storing energy
that can then be released to power the engine. Combined with the temperature and
pressure differentials used in this system this adds up to a significant amount of energy
overall. The results is an engine with relatively high power and excellent environmental
credentials when driven solely by compressed air.

In 2020 Dr. Reza Alizade Evrin of Ontario Tech University developed an isothermal
compressed air vehicle. This prototype uses low pressure air tanks and exhaust air recovery
to power paraffin heat exchanger system. Its energy efficiency reached 74%. This is as much
as 90% of the efficiency of lithium-ion electric cars. It had a driving range of 140KM.
Efficiency and range might be increased by a number of practical improvements. For
example combining the storage tanks into the car chassis, higher pressure tanks, new rotary
engine, and a more efficient heat exchanger. Also the weight and cost of tank can be
reduced by using recycled and bio-based thermoplastics.
This technology can develop into a cheap green transportation technology. The
energy, vehicle and compressors might be easily produced by decentralized methods, even
circular industries. Direct mechanical compression avoids the carnot inefficiency of heat
engines. Insulted storage of compressed air avoids energy conversion and battery storage.
Heat based system might utilize tankage of solar heated molten salts driving a heat
exchanger rather than an onboard heat recovery system. Electric energy, electric grid and
their issues might be avoided.

Compressed Air Safety And Collision Safety.

Figure:1.3 Durastar consortium Thermoplastic composite pressure vessels for hydrogen vehicles.

The tank is designed for safety standards for a pressure vessel. The air storage tanks
usable in compressed air cars can be low pressure (9atm) or high pressure (240+atm). Thus
they can be made of composite material like thermoplastics and fiber reinforced
thermoplastics, this might permit low priced tankage. Thy are light and can resist rust from
air, water and condensation. They also last longer with less maintenance.
Hydrogen tanks require high strength to prevent rupture and high stiffness for
durability. Strength resists an external force. Stiffness maintains a shape. Carbon fiber
hydrogen fuel tank are as light as plastic but six times the strength of steel and four times
the stiffness.

Compressed Air Production And Storage.

Compressed air can also be produced by attatching an air compressed or hydraulic
pump to a wind turbine or by using river, tidal or wave hydro power turdine. This all convert
directly from mechanical to compressed air energy.

Figure: 1.4 Wind turbine air compressor .

Figure: 1.5 Wind powered hydraulic pump with open accumulator for isothermal compressed air
energy storage.

Applications Of Compressed Air Engine.

A widespread application of compressed air motor is in hand tools, impact wrenches,
pules tools, screwdrivers, nut runners, drills, grinders, and so on. They are also used
stationary in a wide range of industrial applications. Even though overall energy efficiency of
the compressed air motor tools is low and they require access to a compressed air source,
there are several advantages over electric tools. In that; they offer great power density, do
not require an auxiliary speed controller, generate less heat and can be used in more
volatile atmosphere as they do not require electric power and do not create spark.