CARS THAT USE AIR FOR FUEL!
AIR CARS, the AIR ENGINE
The air car is a car being developed by MDI, founded by the
French inventor Guy Nègre. It is being manufactured by Moteur Développement
International (MDI). The air car is powered by the air engine, an engine
specifically disigned to be used with the car. This engine is being manufactured
by CQFD Air solution, a company closely linked to MDI.
The cars MDI will
produce, are not being sold just yet (February 2006), but are said to be coming
into production soon.
The air engine is an emission-free piston engine using compressed air as fuel
that was invented by Guy Nègre, a French engineer.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE AIR CAR WEBSITE: http://www.theaircar.com
It uses the expansion of compressed air to drive the pistons in a modified
piston engine. Efficiency of operation is gained through the use of
environmental heat at normal temperature to warm the otherwise cold expanded air
from the storage tank. This non-adiabatic expansion has the potential to greatly
increase the efficiency of the machine. The only exhaust gas is cold air (-15
°C), which is also used for air conditioning in a car. The source for air is a
pressurized carbon-fiber tank holding air at 3,000 lbf/in² (20 MPa). Air is
delivered to the engine via a rather conventional injection system. Unique crank
design within the engine increases the time during which the air charge is
warmed from ambient sources and a two stage process allows improved heat
transfer rates.
This engine is used to power an urban car with room for five passengers and a
projected range of about 100 to 200 miles (160 to 320 km), depending on traffic
conditions. The main advantages are: no roadside emissions, low cost technology,
engine uses food oil for lubrication (just about 1 liter, changes only every
30,000 miles (50,000 km)) and integrated air conditioning. Range could be
quickly tripled, since there are already carbon fiber tanks which have passed
safety standards holding gas at 10,000 lbf/in² (70 MPa).
The tanks may be refilled in about three minutes at a service station, or in a
few hours at home plugging the car into the electric grid via an on-board
compressor.
The cost of refilling is projected to be about US $3.
However, the air engine and refueling system, considered as a system, are not
pollution free except in special cases, as the electric power generation would
have its own environmental costs. One of the special cases is where an operator
of such a vehicle installs photovolatic or wind drive electric power generation,
quite cost effective if the operator can use time-of-use net metering, where
power produced is credited at a higher rate than its use to recharge a vehicle
using off-peak rates.
Also, performance and range features noted above are based on theoretical
projections based upon experiment, prototype performance, engineering analysis
and proposed developments. So far (early July 2004), no information has been
forthcoming from the developers or other interested parties as to an actual
vehicle that can perform as stated. If successful, the project will definitely
advance the state of the art in zero pollution developments, principally because
it does not have the limited battery life and consequent periodic battery
replacement costs of an electric vehicle. Furthermore, the ability to quickly
replenish the energy store in a time comparable to filling the tank of a liquid
fuel vechicle will be far superior to anything that a battery electric vehicle
can deliver and will enable an operator to make long trips within the
availability of fast charging stations.
The source of these articles is
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this
article is licensed under the
GFDL
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