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Air Powered Car Presented By- Aditya Ambastha

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Page 1: Air Powered Car

Air Powered Car

Presented By- Aditya Ambastha

Page 2: Air Powered Car

Contents Introduction.

Basic principal.

Compressed Air Engine (CAE).

Important components of air car.

Specifications.

Advantages and Disadvantages.

Models.

Commercialization.

Air Car in India.

Conclusion.

References.

Page 3: Air Powered Car

Introduction Petroleum is becoming the fuel of the past , due to its rate of

depletion and its adverse environmental effects.

Automobile manufacturers are investing their time and money to find the fuel of the future.

They are turning towards greener energy sources like battery, hydrogen and methane, but some manufacturers think air could become an even better energy source.

The idea of running a car on air seems almost too good to be true. Air is all around us. Air never runs out. Air is nonpolluting. Best of all, air is free.

Air alone can't be used as a fuel, the energy has to be stored in it by squeezing the air tightly using a mechanical air compressor, and this energy can be used to drive the piston that powers an engine.

The idea of using compressed air to power a vehicle isn't new: Early prototypes of an air-powered vehicle go back to the middle of the 19th century

Page 4: Air Powered Car

Inventor

Guy Negre, a 67-year-old mechanical engineer, worked on Renault's F1 racing-design crew in the 1980s and 1990s. He focused his attention on a green car, and in 1991 he founded MDI (Motor Development International) with $36,000 in venture money. This invention  is protected world-wide by more than 20 patents owned by MDI, in more than 120 countries.

Page 5: Air Powered Car

Basic principal The laws of physics states that uncont

ained gases will fill any given space. This can be seen by inflating a balloon. The elastic skin of the balloon holds the air tightly inside, but when the balloon is pricked the air 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, that energy is released to do work. That's the basic principle behind air cars.

Page 6: Air Powered Car

Types Of Energy Mode

Single Energy Mode:

It uses only compressed air. The maximum speed is 50 km/h.

Dual Energy Mode:

It uses compress air as well as fossil fuel. At speed over 50 km/h, the engine will switch to fuel mode.

Page 7: Air Powered Car

Compressed air engine (CAE) The Air Car runs a specially

developed engine that uses a new thermo dynamic cycle offering exceptional energy efficiency. The piston is driven by expansion of compressed air Rather than with an ignited fuel-air mixture.

The CAT engine operates on four cycles: intake and compression, combustion, expansion, and exhaust.

Compressed air is stored in carbon fiber tanks, at 300 bar pressure. At the highest point of pressure, this air reaches 400°C, and, at that point, air from the storage tank is injected into the combustion chamber.

Page 8: Air Powered Car

Since the injected air is much colder than the compressed air in the chamber, the injected air is heated instantaneously, causing a sudden expansion, which pushes the piston down which drives the crankshaft.

The heater which is activated only when necessary as the heater runs on liquid fuels. Since the air on heating increases its pressure to drive the engine thus the heater on activation can increase the power to a maximum of 75bhp.

The momentum on the camshaft from this expansion spins it a bit further, thus closing the intake valve and forcing the uncompressed air out through the exhaust valve.

This cycle repeats on an on to spin the engine fast enough to drive the car.

The exhaust air which is now cold is then driven to the air conditioning system to cool the interiors eliminating the need for a heavy air-conditioner.

Page 9: Air Powered Car

Important components of air car Compressed air tanks

• These tanks hold 90 cubic metres of air compressed to 300 bars pressure, this is 150 times the pressure in a car tires.

• These tanks are built using the same technology used by the tanks of buses run by compressed natural gas. They are designed and officially approved to carry an explosive product: methane gas.

• In the case of a major accident, where the tanks are ruptured, they would not explode since they are not metal. Instead they would crack, as they are made of carbon fibre. The air would simply escape, without exploding, producing a loud but harmless noise.

• MDI has reached an agreement with the European leader in aerospace technology Airbus Industries for the manufacture of the compressed air storage tanks.

Page 10: Air Powered Car

The Air Filter

• Before compression, the air must be filtered to get rid of any impurities that could damage the engine. Carbon filters are used to eliminate dirt, dust, humidity and other particles which are found in the air in our cities.

• This represents a true revolution in automobiles - it is the first time that a car has produced minus pollution, i.e. it eliminates and reduces existing pollution rather than emitting dirt and harmful gases.

• With this system the air that comes out of the car is cleaner than the air that went in.

The Air Car chassis

• MDI has put together highly-resistant, yet light, chassis, aluminium rods glued together which enables to build a more shock-resistant chassis than regular chassis.

• Gluing ensures quick assembly and a more secure join than with welding. This system helps to reduce manufacture time.

Airfilter

Page 11: Air Powered Car

Brake power recovery

The MDI vehicles will be equipped with a range of modern systems. For example, one mechanism stops the engine when the car is stationary (at traffic lights, junctions etc) which recovers about 13% of the power used.

Body

• It’s body is made up of FIBER GLASS and INJECTED FOAM.

• It is slightly costly ,but it does not cut like steel.

• It does not rust.

• It is light weighted.

Page 12: Air Powered Car

Electrical systemOnly one cable connects all electrical parts (Headlight ,Dashboard light, light inside the car) in the car.

Advantage are:

• Ease of installation.

• Easy to repair

• Less weight due to the cables.

Page 13: Air Powered Car

Arrangement of the systems

Page 14: Air Powered Car

Specifications The price- Depending on the model, these will retail for about

$12,500 up to $16,000.

The performance- The MiniCat, running only on a compressed air engine, has a top speed of 68 mph(110 km/h) and a range of as many as 120 miles.

The recharge- Overnight at home, it will require about 4 hours. At a proposed recharging station, as a few as 4 minutes at a cost of around $2.

The oil needs- since there is no combustion, a liter of vegetable oil can last the vehicle about 31,000 miles.

The emissions- At the tailpipe, emissions are zero. However, air compression—whether done at a station or at home—requires electricity, which is typically generated using fossil fuels.

There are no keys—just  an access card which can be read by the car from your  pocket.  According to the designers, it costs less than a tenth to operate compared to a car running on gasoline.

Page 15: Air Powered Car

Advantages Refueling can be done at home using a preinstalled air

compressor by plugging it into a power source and leaving it for 4 hours, or at service stations where refueling can be done in 2-3 minutes at a cost of $2.

The rate of self-discharge is very low compared to battery powered vehicles whose batteries deplete their charge slowly if left unused over a long time. Therefore, the vehicle may be left unused for longer periods of time than electric cars.

Expansion of the compressed air lowers its temperature; this may be exploited for use as air conditioning.

Reduction or elimination of hazardous chemicals such as gasoline or battery acids/metals.

Compressed air engines reduce the cost of vehicle production, because there is no need to build a cooling system, spark plugs, starter motor etc.

Some mechanical configurations may allow energy recovery during braking by compressing and storing air.

Page 16: Air Powered Car

Disadvantages

While an air car produces no pollution running on already compressed air in its tank, pollution is nonetheless produced when the air is compressed. This it is not completely a zero emission car.

The distance that an air car can cover without refueling is crucial because very few filling stations will have compressed air pumps available at first.

The speed of the air car is way less compared to the modern supercars which has the maximum speed of 424km/h.

Page 17: Air Powered Car

Models A spacious car with seats which can face different directions. The vehicle´s design is based on the needs of a typical family.

Specifications : Airbag, air conditioning, 6 seats.

Family car

Van

 Designed for daily use in industrial, urban or rural environments, whose primary drivers would be tradesmen, farmers and delivery drivers.

Specifications: Airbag, air conditioning, ABS, 2 seats, 1.5 m3.

Page 18: Air Powered Car

Inspired by the London Taxi, with numerous ergonomic and comfort advantages for the passenger as well as for the driver.

Specifications: Airbag, air conditioning, 6 seats.

The "pleasure" car: designed for excursions, outdoor sports or water sports. Also suitable for tradesmen and small businesses.

Specifications: Airbag, air conditioning, 2 seats.

The smallest and most innovative: three seats, minimal dimensions . The Minicat is the city car of the future.

Specifications: Airbag, air conditioning, ABS, 3 seats, 1.5 m3.

Page 19: Air Powered Car

Commercialization As soon as the MDI engines and vehicles are commercially viable (within

1-3 years, depending on the version) they will have a market, with very limited competition.

The commercial strategy is currently concentrated on the urban markets, with products including taxis, delivery vans and pickup trucks.

Based on a new concept of local vehicle production and sales, MDI promote regional manufacturing license rights in the form of franchised turnkey factory systems. Such a turnkey factory will have a normal production capacity of 2000-4000 vehicles per year and will employ some 130 people. A model factory is being constructed in Brignoles, France.

The company says the cars will initially go on sale in France, where the first assembly line is due to start production in the middle of next year.

Page 20: Air Powered Car

Air cars in India In 2007, Tata Motors licensed the rights from MDI for $28

million to build and sell Tata-branded air cars in India.

The Air Car, called the MiniCAT could cost around Rs. 3,50,000 ($ 8177) in India and would have a range of around 300 km between refuels .The cost of a refill would be about Rs 90.

However in December 2009 Tata's vice president of engineering systems confirmed that the limited range and low engine temperatures were causing problems. Meanwhile any related articles or connections to MDI have been deleted from the website of Tata Motors, including in the archive.

Page 21: Air Powered Car

ConclusionThe air car which is the result of a long research and development is a clean, easy to drive, light weight, high performance car. MDI has achieved what the large car manufactures have promised in a hundred years time.

Air powered cars is a realization of latest technology in automobile field. It eliminates the use of non-renewable fuels and thereby preventing pollution and step to a healthier environment.

Page 23: Air Powered Car

Thank you