A Compressed air engine is a Pneumatic actuator that creates useful work by expanding compressed air. A pneumatic actuator converts energy (in the form of Compressed air, typically into motion Compressed air They have existed in many forms over the past two centuries, ranging in size from handheld turbines up to several hundred horsepower. Some types rely on pistons and cylinders, others use turbines. Many compressed air engines improve their performance by heating the incoming air, or the engine itself. Some took this a stage further and burned fuel in the cylinder or turbine, forming a type of internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a
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Tools
Impact wrenches, drills, die grinders, dental drills and other pneumatic tools use a variety of air engines (or motors). An impact wrench (also known as an air wrench, air gun, rattle gun, torque gun) is a Socket wrench Power tool designed A die grinder is a handheld tool which turns a Burr or mounted abrasive stone at high speed A dental drill (or dentist's drill) is a small high-speed Drill used in Dentistry to remove decayed tooth material prior to the insertion of a Dental Pneumatic tools or air tools are Tools driven by gas usually Compressed air supplied by a Gas compressor. These include vane type pumps, turbines and pistons.
Torpedoes
Most successful early forms of self propelled torpedoes used high pressure compressed air, although this was superseded by internal or external combustion engines, steam engines, or electric motors. The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below
Railways
Compressed air engines were used in trams and shunters, and eventually found a successful niche in mining locomotives, although eventually they were replaced by electric trains, underground[1]. Over the years designs increased in complexity, resulting in a triple expansion engine with air to air reheaters between each stage [2].
Aircraft
Transport category airplanes, such as commercial airliners, use compressed air starters to start the main engines. The air is supplied by the load compressor of the aircraft's auxiliary power unit, or by ground equipment. An auxiliary power unit ( APU) is a device on a vehicle whose purpose is to provide energy for functions other than propulsion
Automotive
There is currently some interest in developing air cars. A compressed air vehicle is powered by an Air engine, using Compressed air, which is stored in a tank A Compressed air car is an alternative fuel car that uses a motor powered by compressed air Several engines have been proposed for these, although none have demonstrated the performance and long life needed for personal transport.
Energine
The Energine Corporation was a South Korean company that delivers fully-assembled cars running on a hybrid compressed air and electric engine. The compressed-air engine was used to activate an alternator, which extends the autonomous operating capacity of the car.
EngineAir
EngineAir, an Australian company, is making a rotary engine powered by compressed air, called The Di Pietro motor. The rotary engine was an early type of internal combustion Aircraft engine in which the Crankshaft remains stationary and the entire Cylinder Angelo Di Pietro (1950 Avellino, Italy) is an engine designer who developed the Di Pietro Motor Air engine. The Di Pietro motor concept is based on a rotary piston. Different from existing rotary engines, the Di Pietro motor uses a simple cylindrical rotary piston (shaft driver) which rolls, without any friction, inside the cylindrical stator. [3]
It can be used in boat, cars, carriers and other vehicles. Only 1 psi (≈ 6,8 kPa) of pressure is needed to overcome the friction. The pound per square inch or more accurately pound-force per square inch (symbol psi or lbf/in² or lbf/in²) is a unit of [4] [5]
K'Airmobiles
K'Airmobiles vehicles use a compressed-air engine known as the K'Air, developed in France by a small group of researchers
These engines have a consumption of compressed air of less than 120 L/min. , although developing a dynamic push able to reach 4kN.
The technical concept of the K'Air pneumatic engines returns to direct conversion of what makes the fundamental characteristic of compressed air, namely:
- the pushing force of compressed air is exclusively exploited for conversion into kinetic energy of translation,
- itself is simultaneously converted into induced power of rotation of the axis and
- thus gives to the engine a particularly imposing torque while needing only a very low “fuel” consumption.
To simplify, one can compare the principle to that of the rotary jacks:
- the energy of the fluid (compressed air) is directly transformed into rotational movement;
- the double-acting jacks involve a pinion-toothed rack system;
- the cyclic angle of rotation can vary between 90 and 360°;
- it supports hydraulic supercharging systems.
MDI
In MDI's original air engine, one piston compresses air from the atmosphere, holding it on a small container that feeds the high pressure air tanks with a small amount of air. Motor Development International SA (MDI is a Luxembourgish company that is famous for designing Compressed Air Engine vehicle Then that portion of the air is sent to the second piston where it works. During compression for heating it up, there is a loss of energy due to the fact that it cannot receive energy from the atmosphere as the atmosphere is less warm than it. Also, it has to expand as it has the crank. MDI's engine works with constant torque, and the only way to change the torque to the wheels is to use a pulley transmission of constant variation, losing some efficiency. When vehicle is stopped, MDI's engine had to be on and working, losing energy. In 2001-2004 MDI switched to a design similar to that described in Regusci's patents, which date back to 1990[6].
Quasiturbine
The Pneumatic Quasiturbine engine is a compressed air pistonless rotary engine using a four-sided rhomboid rotor whose sides are hinged at the vertices. The Quasiturbine or Qurbine engine is a proposed Pistonless rotary engine using a rhomboidal rotor whose Compressed air This article is about Internal combustion engines that do not use conventional Pistons See also Rotary engine (disambiguation for other uses of this This article is about Internal combustion engines that do not use conventional Pistons See also Rotary engine (disambiguation for other uses of this
The Quasiturbine has demonstrated as a pneumatic engine using stored compressed air [7]. Pneumatics, Pressurized gas to affect mechanical motion Pneumatic power is used in Industry, where it is common to have factory units plumbed for Compressed
It can also take advantage of the energy amplification possible from using available external heat, as the solar energy. Solar energy is the Light and radiant heat from the Sun that powers Earth 's Climate and Weather and sustains Life [8]
The Quasiturbine rotates from pressure as low as 1/10 of atmosphere (bar).
Since the Quasiturbine is a pure expansion engine (which the Wankel is not, neither most of other rotary engines), it is well suitable as compressed fluid engine - Air engine or air motor. Felix Heinrich Wankel Hon DEng (August 13 1902 &ndash October 9 1988 was a German Mechanical engineer and the inventor of the Wankel engine. [9]
Regusci
Armando Regusci's version[10] of the air engine couples the transmission system directly to the wheel, and has variable torque from zero to the maximum, enhancing efficiency. Regusci's patents date back to 1990[11],
Team Psycho-Active
Psycho-Active is developing a multi-fuel/air-hybrid chassis which is intended to serve as the foundation for a line of automobiles. Claimed performance is 50 hp/litre [12]
Karts
At least one Kart has been powered by a quasiturbine. For other meanings see Kart (disambiguation Kart racing or karting is a variant of Open-wheel Motor sport with [13]
Effecient air engines
One could make the compressed air engines much more efficient than they are now (15%) by for example: *Using the heat energy from the compressor (ALL energy used to run the compressor is converted to heat due to friction), *shut down the air after a while ("cutoff"), *Expand the air in several various stages and heat the air again between the expansions by ordinary air (in a heat exchanger), * or even replace the compressor with an invention that bob neal did in 1934. In Theoretical physics, cutoff is the maximal or minimal value of Energy, Momentum, or Length, so that the objects with even larger or smaller (source: article). [14]
See also
- Angelo Di Pietro (inventor)
- Chopper (motorcycle)
- Compressed air energy storage
- Compressor
- Kit car
- V8 engine
External links
- aircaraccess.com article
- Wikia has a wiki on this subject: cair
- Air engine at OScar
- Conversion of a V-8 gas automobile engine to run on compressed air
References
- ^ Compressed-Air Propulsion
- ^ http://www.aircaraccess.com/images/3stage%201.jpg
- ^ www.engineair.com.au
- ^ www.engineair.com.au
- ^ www.engineair.com.au
- ^ Armando
- ^ Quasiturbine Low RPM High Torque Pressure Driven Turbine for Top Efficiency Power Modulation. Angelo Di Pietro (1950 Avellino, Italy) is an engine designer who developed the Di Pietro Motor Air engine. A chopper is a radically customized Motorcycle, archetypal examples of which are the customized Harley-Davidsons seen in the 1969 Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES refers to the compression of air to be used later as energy source A kit car is an Automobile that is available in kit form which means that the client buys a set of parts and needs to assemble the car himself / herself A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the Crankcase in two banks of four cylinders in most cases set at a right angle to each other Wikia (originally Wikicities) is a selective Free web hosting service for Wikis (or Wiki farm) operated by Wikia Inc OScar is the first attempt to design an entire Automobile (now also extended to other vechicles Bus, Truck and Motorcycle) using Open Peers reviewed paper - Published in The Proceeding of Turbo Expo 2007 of the IGTI (International Gas Turbine Institute) and ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). Abstract and info
- ^ Quasiturbine> Type> Pneumatic
- ^ Quasiturbine> Type> Pneumatic
- ^ Motor
- ^ Armando
- ^ Psycho-Active Contenders for the Automotive X-Prize
- ^ APUQ - Association de Promotion des Usages de la Quasiturbine
- ^ [htp://www. aircaraccess. com/articl01. htm article] in aircaraccess. com
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