The Air Car

INTRODUCTION :

An engine is a device, which transforms one form of energy into

another form. However while transforming energy from one form to another form
conversion plays an important role. Normally most of engines convert thermal
energy into mechanical work.
Heat engine is a device, which transfers the chemical energy into
thermal energy, and utilizes this thermal energy to perform useful work. Thus,
thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy in a heat engine.
A French Formula one engineer Guy Negre who has spent years
searching for an alternative to the traditional oil-fuel engine pioneered the
compression engine technology. The piston engine is powered by the release of
compressed air, which is stored in tanks, very similar to scuba diving tanks
attached to the underside of the car.

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PRESENT STATUS:
Today all the automobiles, whether bike or a car have an engine
that works on either spark ignition system or on compression ignition system
depending upon the fuel used.
During working of system, it takes fuel and air as input,
compresses it to a high pressure and temperature. After compression is over, the
charge i.e., fuel and air mixture is ignited by means of spark plug or by direct
injection system and gases are produced which are the result of combustion. The
gases, obtained as a result of combustion, are at a high temperature and pressure,
which work on piston and pushes the piston to bottom dead center (BDC) and
when the pressure of gases fall to atmospheric pressure, they are given out to the
environment through exhaust valve and by means of exhaust muffler.
The gases, which are given out to the environment, consist of a gas
like CO2, SO2, etc., which leads to the problem of pollution. Today we know that
there are millions of vehicles running on the road. The vehicles pollute the
environment and which is very harmful to nature.
Due to this increase in pollution, all countries worldwide had laid
down an act that after 2020, no vehicle will be promoted to burn-off petrol or
diesel as fuel. Also, due to the increasing demand of automobile, there is a
shortage of fuel and also the cost of fuel is climbing step by step to high value.
We all know that what is the importance of vehicles in our daily
life. Everybody needs vehicle in his daily life, because using vehicle his time is
reduced from one place to another. Also the transportation of goods from one
place to another made simpler with use of vehicle. So depending upon above
specification, one can tell that today there is bad need for transportation.
There are different methods to avoid pollution problems such as
electric cars, solar cars, etc. Certain manufacturers have interested heavily in
electric cars generally recommended by public authorities as being solution to
urban problems. However the public largely ignores electric cars because,
1. High cost,
2. Limited range,

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3. Long recharge time for battery,

4. Negative effect of battery replacement,
5. Difficult recycling processes
Another technique which has consumed considerable investments,
consist of powering vehicle by fuel cell. But this technique is also largely ignored
by public because of,
1. Very high cost,
2. Heavy and complicated structure,
3. Uses of fuel which are in general dangerous and difficult to store
To overcome above difficulties, an alternative source is to use an
engine that will run on air or gas.
Researchers at the University of Washington are developing a new
zero-emission automobile propulsion concept that uses liquid nitrogen as the fuel.
The principle of operation is like that of steam engine, except there is no
combustion involved instead, liquid nitrogen at –323 degF (-196 degC) is
pressurized and then vaporized in a heat exchanger by the ambient temperature of
the surrounding air. This heat exchanger is like the radiator of a car but instead of
using air to cool water, it uses air to heat and boil liquid nitrogen. The resulting
high-pressure nitrogen gas is fed to an engine that operates like reciprocating
steam engine, converting pressure to mechanical power. The only exhaust is
nitrogen, which is the major constituent of our atmosphere.

LN2000’s liquid nitrogen propulsion cycle

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The LN2000 is an operating proof-of-concept test vehicle, a

converted 1984 Grumman-Olson Kubvan mail delivery van. The engine, a radial
five-cylinder 15-hp air motor, drives the front wheels through a five-speed manual
Volkswagen transmission. The liquid nitrogen is stored in a thermos-like stainless
steel tank, or dewar, that holds 24 gallons and is so well insulated that the nitrogen
will stay liquid for weeks. At present the tank is pressurized with gaseous nitrogen
to develop system pressure but a cryogenic liquid pump will be used for this
purpose in the future. A preheater, called an economizer, uses leftover heat in the
engine's exhaust to preheat the liquid nitrogen before it enters the heat exchanger.
Two fans at the rear of the van draw air through the heat exchanger to enhance the
transfer of ambient heat to the liquid nitrogen. The design of this heat exchanger
is such as to prevent frost formation on its outer surfaces.

SCHEMATIC OF LN2000

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WHAT IS AN AIR CAR? :

After more than thirty years experience with combustion engines,
the French engineer Guy Negre has developed a concept of a totally non pollution
engine for use in urban areas.
This invention, which uses high-pressure compressed air to store
the energy needed for running the engine, is protected worldwide by more than 20
patents owned by MDI.
In urban areas, the engine powers a five seat vehicle with a range
of approximately 200 km using 300 liters of compressed air stored in either
carbon or glass fiber tanks.
A compressor driven by an electric motor connected to a standard
electric outlet does the recharge of the compressed air tanks. A rapid recharge,
using a high-pressure air pump, is also possible.
The MDI patents cover not only the basic principal of the
utilization of power but also the means of making it economically feasible.
Systems for the recuperation of energy have been developed as well as a new
power transmission assembly.
To demonstrate the viability of the concept, three prototype
vehicles equipped with air, mono energy, engines were developed. A taxi called
TOP a delivery van and a pickup truck were built. In may 1998, the taxi TOP has
been the subject of more than 35 television programs and several hundred
newspaper and magazine articles around the world.
The potential market for the clean engine concept is immense e.g.,
vehicles such as taxis, buses, vans, delivery trucks, industrial warehouse tractors,
golf buggies, lake or canal boats and many other applications in which fixed
engines are primarily used in urban or restricted areas.
A version of the MDI engine can, in addition to air, also function
with the use of traditional fuel, petrol, diesel, natural or town gas, at very low
consumption levels. The change of source of energy is handled electronically
based on the speed of the vehicle e.g. below 60 km/h it runs on air and at higher
speeds it runs on fuel. The compressed air tanks are recharged while the engine is

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running on fuel using a built in mini compressor activated by breaking and

deceleration. It is also possible to recharge the air tanks in 2-3 minutes at a
compressed air filling station.
The French company Zero Pollution Motor Inc. is building a new
electric car powered by a compressed-air engine. The car should go on sale in one
to three years, at a price of about $10,140 (72,000 francs).
The company is calling the car the MDI TOP (Taxi zero Pollution)
because they plan to initially introduce it to the public as a taxi. Powered by
compressed air and an electric motor, the car will emit only a small amount of
pollution, from the oil used to run the motor. The company claims the cars
exhaust pollutant levels are much lower than those of a conventional engine are.
The engine will run on compressed air stored in either carbon or
glass fiber tanks, at a pressure of 4,351 pounds per square inch (psi), or 300 bar.
The MDI engine is unlike a conventional four-stroke engine, in which
compression, combustion and expansion all take place in a single cylinder. In the
MDI engine, these three functions are divided into a three-chamber system, with
one cylinder for compression, a small spherical chamber for combustion and a
much larger cylinder for expansion.
For now, the car is only optimal for city driving because its range
is limited to about 124 miles (200 km). Using a household electricity source, it
takes about four hours for the motor-driven compressor to recharge the
compressed air tanks. A rapid three-minute recharge is also possible, using a high-
pressure air pump.
An alternate version of the MDI engine can function as a duel-fuel
engine, using both air and a traditional fuel, such as gasoline, diesel fuel or natural
gas, at very low consumption levels. In this engine type, the engine runs on air at
speeds below 37 mph (60 kph) and electronically switches to the traditional fuel
at higher speeds

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HOW AIR CAR WORKS? :

Working principle:
Motor development industry had developed a new engine, which is
radically a new internal combustion engine. There are two different chambers;
one for intake and compression and other for expansion and exhaust; these two
chambers are separated from a spherically shaped combustion chamber. The time
given for combustion of fuel is 30-100% longer than in comparison with
conventional engine thus giving rise to more complete combustion at constant
volume, while spherical shape eliminate knocking problem. The untreated exhaust
pollutant level are lower than those of conventional engine fitted with a catalyst
and engine can be modified to run on petrol, LPG or even diesel.
When the speed of car is below 60 km/hr, the air car runs totally on
compressed air. While car runs on air out of two chambers only one chamber
which is for exhaust and expansion is utilized and other chamber remains idle.
Now the compressed air, which is stored in glass fiber tank, is
slowly injected in second chamber. This injection of compressed air is handled
electronically. As soon as the air enters the second chamber the inlet valve gets
closed at same time. The exhaust valve is also closed. Air, which is under a very
high pressure, works on piston and piston moves to bottom dead center. The
piston is further connected to crank shaft with the help of connecting rod.

Fig. Working principle

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A flywheel is mounted on crankshaft, which stores the energy

during expansion. As soon as pressure of air falls to atmospheric pressure the
exhaust valve opens and piston moves from bottom dead center to the top dead
center, pushes the air to go out to atmosphere through exhaust valve. The energy
required during exhaust stroke is supplied by flywheel and cycle is repeated.
Now, when speed of car becomes above 60 km/hr, the car runs
partially on compressed air and partially on fuel. The air and fuel mixture change
is supplied to chamber 1 after proper mixing. The piston in chamber 1 moves to
bottom dead center due to which pressure inside the chamber falls below
atmospheric pressure and this leads to opening of inlet valve. As soon as charge
comes into chamber the inlet and exhaust valves closed and piston moves toward
top dead center, which leads to compression of charge. Now charge is at very high
pressure and high temperature. This high pressure and high temperature charge is
then transferred into combustion chamber where the ignition of charge takes
places and exhaust gases which are result of combustion are then given into
second chamber. Now in second chamber along with these compressed gases,
compressed air is also present. Now both combinedly works on piston and piston
moves towards bottom dead center and energy is stored in flywheel, that is
supplied during exhaust stroke.
During exhaust stroke, exhaust gases are given out to the
atmosphere. Thus the cycle is repeated. The change of source is handled
electronically based on speed. Thus we see that the car which runs completely on
fuel will work totally on fuel and exhaust gases which are given out are more than
car which runs partially on air and fuel because the power is obtained partially
from compressed air and partially from the exhaust gases. The amount of exhaust
gases are 50 to 70% less in case of air car than the present day cars.
Hence air car is the best solution for pollution problem and also for
the increasing cost of fuel problem.

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In practical terms compressed air at 300 bars is stored in the

carbon fiber tanks A. Air is released through the main line firstly to an alternator
B where the first stage of decompression takes place. The now cold air passes
through a heat exchanger C which adds thermal energy to the air and provides a
convenient opportunity for air conditioning D. The warmed compressed air now
passes to the motor E. where a two more stages of decompression and re-heating
take place. The motor drives the rear axle G through the transmission F. Control
of engine speed is through a conventional accelerator pedal H controlling a valve
within the motor.
An energy recycler J is under test which uses engine braking K to
recompress air during braking into a secondary storage facility, providing
additional energy for re-start and acceleration. Conventional hydraulic braking L
is supplied. The vehicle can be refilled by using the onboard compressor M or by
refilling the tank at an air station at N.
Ultimately the engine generates 37 Kilowatts, notwithstanding the
small size of this unit. The "exhaust" leaves the engine at about zero degrees
Celsius, a result of the expansion and cooling action. The exhaust is totally pure
and fit to breathe. A compressed air driven engine offers enormous benefits to the
car designer. Because of its small size and weight, and the removal of a host of
devices and parts not required, the designer has free rein to maximize his
materials and space to provide a simple, economic platform for the vehicle.

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POWER -TORQUE GRAPH

30

25
7
6 20
5
4
3 15
2
1 12
0
5

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

The blue curve indicates the horsepower. The red curve indicates
the engine torque in Kgm. Both curves depend on rpm (Below in black). One can
appreciate that the engine torque is very high at low revolutions (more than 6
Kgm at 750 revolutions). It is to say that to the same revolution that a normal
engine gives, the MDI car gives all its engine torque. This high torque stays at
practically its maximum of 2,800 revolutions. As well we can see that the engine
works at a lower revolution than a normal car, giving its maximum power of
3,500 rpm.
FILLING UP:
The designers say it will be possible to merely plug the vehicle into
any electrical power source to fill it up. That could take up to 4 hrs but the
manufacturers imagine that fleet owners could install their own air stations, where
a fill up could take as little as 3 min.
By way of explanation, it has long been known that to compress air
to high pressures a staged process should be used, compressing air to first 50 bars,
then to 150 bars then three hundred and so on. This technique, commonly
employed by the air and gas liquefaction industries, uses a fraction of the energy
used to compress the gas in one operation. The secret of the compressed air motor
is simply to reverse the process - decompress the air in stages and in so doing
efficiently release energy at each point in the chain.

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REASONS FOR BUYING AIR CAR

• The vehicle is completely pollution free, with an autonomy of some 200

km and a top speed of 110 km/h.

• Its engine runs on compressed air and ambient air - the air we breath, with
no risk of either of explosion or from toxic fumes.

• The tanks, storing the compressed air , can be refilled by a built-in

compressor in 3-4 hours, using a standard 110/220 V electrical outlet, or in
2-3 minutes at an air compressor equipped service station.

• Included in the vehicle is a system for recuperating ambient thermal

energy.

• Free air conditioning in warm weather; a clean, non-polluting heating

system in cold weather.

• Simplified, low cost maintenance, owing to the engine's low operating

temperature, e.g. oil change (2 litres of vegetable oil) every 50,000 km.

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SPECIFICATION:

Intake and compression cylinder 230 cubic cm

Expansion and exhaust cylinder 500 cubic cm
Power max. HP (KW) 25 (18.3) at 3000 rpm
Torque max. Kgm (Nm) 6.3 (61.7) at 500-2500 rpm
Power source electronically injected compressed
air
Oil volume and oil change interval 0.8 liters and about 50,000 km
Vehicle engine mount
Rear Transmission
Automatic, continuous variation Rear wheel drive
Suspension Front coil spring, rear pneumatic
Steering Rack and pinion
Dimensions Length 384 cm, width 182 cm,
height 175cm
Wheel base 292 cm
Weight: unload About 700 kg
Chassis and body materials Steel bars/honeycomb plastic and
fiber glass
Tanks for compressed air Thermoplastic lining and carbon
fiber
Fuel Compressed air 300 bar

Time for recharge of compress air tanks:

Using household electricity source 4 hours

Using air service station 3 minutes
Maximum speed 60 mph

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HOW AIR-CAR HELPS TO REDUCE POLLUTION:

In most of the countries gas pollution is main problem which is
caused due to the use of gasoline as a fuel in vehicles.
Gasoline is a liquid formed purely of carbon and hydrogen.
Gasoline is made up of carbon chains of different lengths ranging from C7H16 to
C11H24. If you could burn gasoline as a vapour with a hot flame and plenty of
oxygen, you would get nearly pure carbon dioxide and water as the combustion
products. And as you know that complete combustion of fuel does not takes place,
reason behind this is that air supplied during combustion is little less than that
required for complete combustion. This incomplete combustion causes carbon
monoxide to liberate as a biproduct which directly attacks the ozone layer and
reason for many diseases.
The most important pollutants in car exhaust include:
1) Carbon monoxide is formed because combustion is incomplete. Not enough
oxygen is available fast enough to react completely with all of the carbon
available.
2) Nitrogen oxides - Because of the pressure and temperature inside a cylinder,
nitrogen and oxygen in the air combine in various ways.
3) Unburned hydrocarbons - not all of the hydrocarbons participate in the
reaction because there is so little time available during the combustion phase.
4) There can also be some impurities like sulphur in the gas that form sulphur
oxides.
Now many of automobile producing companies they uses catalytic
converter to avoid above gases to go to atmosphere. The idea behind a catalytic
converter is to try to eliminate the carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and
hydrocarbons by reacting them with plenty of oxygen on a platinum catalyst.
However, catalytic converters are not perfect, so some of the pollutants escape.
On hot summer days we see the effect of these pollutants in the form of smog and
ozone.
As about gasoline is the main source of pollution, if we use
compressed air instead of gasoline then we can improve environment. As we

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know that nitrogen is the main constituent of environment, in case of air car we
extract nitrogen from environment, liquify it and used as fuel in car, then there
will be nitrogen, only the exhaust gas which is not harmful to human being and
environment. By using liquid nitrogen (compressed air) in car, we can reduce
pollution up to 70-80%.

1. Based on 45% highway driving, 55% city driving, 15000 annual miles and the
following fuel prices.
Electricity .$0.08 per k.w./hour ($2.71 per gallon of gasoline equivalent)
MPG represents the number of miles that can be traveled using an amount of
electricity equivalent to the energy in a gallon of gasoline.
2. GHG. Greenhouse gas emissions expressed in CO2 equivalents. Estimates
include the full fuel cycle and exclude vehicle manufacture.(U.S. Department of
Energy, GREET Model, Argonne National Laboratory)
Nissan and Toyota MPG/GHG/Range/Fuel Cost Figures based on DOT reported
figures, City C.A.T. provided by MDI
3. Based on a 1998 Test conducted by EVA America
4. Three minutes at High Speed Compressor/4 Hrs on Conventional 220 Volt
home charger

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CONSIDERATION OF SAFETY:
One may have question in mind that storing of air at such high
pressure will cause some serious problem. The tank, which is made up of glass
fiber, is used to store the air under high pressure. Glass fiber tank can withstand
such high pressure.
Second problem is that what will happen in an accident? Don’t
worry Alone will confiscate everyone’s gas burning cars and issue every one an
air car (Complete with statement of the art satellite tracking system). So that all
the collision can be prevented from the space.
Third question is from where you will fill air where there is no air
station. The designer of the engine says that it will be possible to merely plug the
vehicle into any electrical power source to it. That could take 4 hours. This engine
has a small in-built compressor that compresses air and stores it in tanks.
To withstand such an high pressure, the cylinder, the piston and
connecting rod have been redesigned as well as new power transmission assembly
had been developed.
One may ask a question that Can a MDI engine adopted to my
car? Answer for this is that the MDI engine can not be installed into classical
vehicles, due to the fact that they generally do not hold enough space as to fit the
air tanks, with a length of 2.10 m and a diameter of 23 cm.

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ADVANTAGES:
1. Avoidance of knocking phenomenon, due to the presence of spherical
cylinder,
2. Avoidance of cooling arrangement Radiator fans etc.,
3. Can run on air as well as fuel,
4. The initial cost is low,
5. Operating cost is also very low,
6. Reduce pollution up to 50-70% while running on normal speed.

DISADVANTAGES:
1. On board compressor takes more time to refill the tanks i.e. 3 to 4 hours.
2. Autonomy range depends on speed of car. At 50km/hr autonomy is over 300
km, but at 100 km/hr it reduces to 1/3 of it.
3. You have to keep liquid fuel (petrol or diesel ) also with you for higher speed
driving .

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FUTURE SCOPE:
The motor development industry (MDI) had tried to develop an
engine for bikes. They were successful in developing engine for bikes running on
compressed air. After year 2003 they will also introduced a bike that will run on
compressed air so that is much reduce in air pollution.
In most of the countries, gas pollution is the main problem of
pollution. The vehicle, whether it is bike or car, is the main source of pollution.
Use of air motor can reduce this problem of pollution we can keep the
environment pollution-free.
The cost of fuel (gasoline like petrol, etc.) is also climbing to high
value, and this is becoming headache for motor owner. By using air motor we can
save the fuel and minimize the expenditure.

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CONCLUSION:

From all the description made here one can say that by using air
car there is reduction in air pollution in great extent. Also, the aim of project is to
cut cost, create job locally. Also air car provides an answer to the shortage of fuel
and high price of fuel.
With petrol and diesel prices going up and the price of oil subjects
to fluctuation for motorist, this becomes headache; use of air motor is only the
solution. All know that there will be shortage of gasoline (petrol, diesel), in future,
engine that runs on compressed air is only the alternative for it.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY :

1) www.zeropollution.com
2) www.howstuffworks.com
3) www.theaircar.com
4) www.e.volution.com

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