Air Car

Ian Anderson

Lifetime Supporter
Safer than sitting on a tank of compressed LPG. one would think.

Just did a google
LPG pressure per Wiki is 22 bar or about 300psi
This site is quoting 4350 psi compressed air
All that pressure imagine when the tank "lets go" because it has been in a bump

Ian
 

Jim Rosenthal

Supporter
I think this is safe. Dive tanks and flasks hold a lot higher pressure than that, and if they are inspected regularly, they are fine. Of course all the fittings have to be steel and rated for that pressure as well. There's a lot of knowledge about this kind of stuff, it doesn't have to be reinvented.

Now, as to the car, I have no idea.
 
That is one ugly car...but we have some of those so-called smart cars driving around hereabouts and they are in the same league.
I have a friend who is very familiar with some of the motor technology in use here and some of the features are interesting. The motor does not need to run in a conventional idle mode while sitting stopped, the motor simply stops, and when power is required the pressure just re-starts the rotation so there is no "Fuel" used while stopped.
There is some degree of dynamic braking, but I am not sure if there is any regeneration involved in the pressure vessel.
The exhaust has a heat exchanger and provides the cooling for AC.
Supposedly the crankcase has vegetable oil in it.
The thing I wondered about was what all of the timing belts and what I am assuming are camshafts doing on a motor that could easily benefit from a pneumatic valve system such as in a F1 motor. Just seems like a lot of frictional loss.
I agree with Guss, the 300 KM figure seems highly optimistic, just wondering what the exhaust sounds like.
Cheers
Phil
 
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