Air Cars

Christie Walker
Outline
 What an air car is
 Who invented them
 How they work
 Recharging compressed air
 Advantages / disadvantages
 Models available
 Where you can get them
 Cost / grants
 How they compare to conventional cars
What is an Air Car?

 Runs entirely on compressed air held in 300

liter tanks underneath the car
 Uses an engine similar to a conventional
gasoline engine (piston engine)
 Is possible to run one of these cars completely
emission free
The mind behind air cars

 Invented by French engineer, Guy Negre

 Retired Formula One engine designer
 Invented air car engine
 Motor Development International (MDI) bought
technology / patented idea
 Negre still employed as lead engineer on team
The Concept of the Engine

 Air engine consists of three chamber system

– 1 cylinder compression
– 1 small combustion chamber
– 1 large expansion cylinder
What drives the compression
cylinder?

 The cylinder used for compressing the air

taken from outside is driven by recovered
energy.
 This energy is recovered from the energy lost
in the braking and deceleration process.
How do they work?
 First Chamber – takes in air through grill,
compresses, heats up air
 Second Chamber – mixes the hot compressed
air and cool expanded air
(from tanks) pressure
drives the piston to drive the
engine
 Third Chamber –allows for expansion and exhaust of
the mixed air from the combustion
chamber
Intake and compression 230 cm³
cylinder

Expansion and exhaust 500 cm³

cylinder

Power max. HP-CEE (kW- 25 (18.3) at 3000 rpm

CCE)

Torque max. Kgm-CEE (Nm- 6.3 (61.7) at 500 – 2500 rpm

CEE)

Power source Electronically injected

compressed air

Oil volume and oil change 0.8 liters and about 50,000
interval km
Air car performance

Maximum speed 60mph

Acceleration 0-30 mph:

7 seconds

Re-Acceleration Time 0-30 mph:

3 seconds

Range 120 miles or 10

hours
Recharging the Air Car

 Two ways to recharge the compressed air

tanks
1) Quick refill (2-3 minutes)

2) recharge compressor inside of car through an

outside power source (4+ hours)
- solar
- electricity
Disadvantages

 Max speed 60 mph (120mph)

 Power 700cc’s (1600cc’s)
 Refuel 120 miles (~300 miles)
 Time to refuel up to 6 hours (max 5 min)
Solution to Disadvantages

 To eliminate these problems the air car is also

fueled by petrol.
 Even on gas alone these cars get 140 miles
per gallon
 Electronically controlled
 50 mph and above – runs on petrol
 Below 50 mph – runs only on air
Models Available

 Because of their speed limitations, these cars

are ideal for use in the city
 Available as:
– Taxis
– Pick-up trucks
– Delivery vans
– Bus prototypes being worked on
– Buggy prototype (Bombardier, Canada)
Where can you find air cars?

 Being tested and produced in Brignoles, France

 Hudson Valley, United States
– President of MDI searching for production site here
– Employs 130 workers
– Produce 2,000 to 6,000 cars per year
 Mexico is the first country to mass produce
– Bought 40,000
– Working to 87,000
– Worst pollution in world in that city
How much do they cost?

 A car alone only costs $13,000

 This does not include:
– 20 year air compressor - $3000
– 10 solar panels to charge emission free - $4290

Still less than conventional car, even with large initial

costs
Grants

 EPA knows about these air cars, trying to

incorporate them into United States cities
– Offering up to $8000 in grants per car for every car
used for community purposes
Why Air Cars?
 Current transportation system not sustainable
 Much more efficient
– Lighter shell (carbon fiber)
– Lighter engine (77 pounds / 1/3 of gas engine)
– Longer combustion time in piston to burn fuel better
 Emissions
– Air car
 cleaner air, electricity usage (if applicable)
– Conventional Car
 Cause lung damage, smog, global warming, etc.
Misc. Facts about Air Cars

 Less noise than a gas powered car, not quite

as quiet as a hybrid
 Handles like a regular car
 Little danger of rollover because of low center
of gravity
 Safer in a crash than a conventional car
 Excellent suspension
Conclusion

 Despite some faults, air cars can soon be very

real method of transportation
 Almost completely sustainable
 Cheaper than most conventional cars
 Can improve air quality considerably
 Can reduce greenhouse gas emissions
considerably