I have been doing some research on air powered cars and it is very interesting.
World's first air-powered car introduced - Autoblog

 

Did I read that correctly - over 4,000 psi tank pressure? For a car that small, I can't imagine an on board compressor capable of delivering that kind of pressure in 2 hours. Was a tank volume stated? (No audio on this terminal).

 

It speaks of quick fills at specially equipped stations and says a small on board gasoline (or other fuel) engine could also refill the tanks. I saw the tank volume in some of my readings, but struck out trying to relocate it. Air, gas, electric, there is no free lunch, but watching air cars will be interesting.

 

"Tata" motors? They better change the name before they start selling cars here.

 

I don't know.... has a nice "bounce" to it.....

 

Air power cars are so simple even a 5th grader could build one.

Air Car Part 1

Air Car Part 2

 

Not likely to happen. They are a world wide company from India producing everything from steel to whatever. They employ over 500,000 people.

One car is already here, I saw one at my local bank the other day:

Tata 'NANO' - The People's Car from Tata Motors

jd

 

Welding oxygen tanks have around 4000 psi and if ruptured will literally launch that heavy tank airborne and through concrete walls. Let's see, 4000+ psi tank in a styrofoam car...........just like blowing up a balloon and letting it go....would be one wild ride while it lasted.

 

That is why air cars will have carbon fiber tanks that will crack and spill the air.

 

Thanks for that. We are a nation of innovators, if a practical air can can be built, it can be done here.

 

'Tata' is a generic company in India that does pretty much everything. I wonder if the employees are bodacious?

 

Advantages
The principal advantages of an air powered vehicle are:

Refueling can be done at home using an air compressor or at service stations. The energy required for compressing air is produced at large centralized plants, making it less costly and more effective to manage carbon emissions than from individual vehicles.
Reduced vehicle weight is the principle efficiency factor of compressed-air cars. Furthermore, they are mechanically more rudimentary than traditional vehicles as many conventional parts of the engine may be omitted. Some plans include motors built into the hubs of each wheel, thereby removing the necessity of a transmission, drive axles and differentials. A four passenger vehicle weighing less than 800 lbs. is a reasonable design goal.
One manufacturer promises a range of 200 kilometers by the end of the year at a cost of € 1.50 per fill-up.
Compressed air engines reduce the cost of vehicle production by about 20%, because there is no need to build a cooling system, spark plugs, transmission, axles, starter motor, or mufflers.
Most compressed air engines do not need a transmission, only a flow control.
The rate of self-discharge is very low opposed to batteries that deplete their charge slowly over time. Therefore, the vehicle may be left unused for longer periods of time than electric cars.
Lower initial cost than battery electric vehicles when mass produced. One estimate is €3,000 less.
Compressed air is not subject to fuel tax.
Expansion of the compressed air lowers in temperature; this may be exploited for use as air conditioning.
Compressed-air vehicles emit no pollutants.
Air turbines, closely related to steam turbines, is a technology over 50 years old. It is simple to achieve with low tech materials. This would mean that developing countries, and rapidly growing countries like China and India, could easily implement a less polluting means of personal transportation than an internal combustion engine automobile.
Possibility to refill air tank at home (using domestic power socket).
Lighter vehicles would result in less wear on roads.
The price of fueling air powered vehicles may be significantly cheaper than current fuels. Some estimates project $3.00 for the cost of electricity for filling a tank.

Disadvantages
Just like the modern car and most household appliances, the principle disadvantage is that of indirect energy use. Energy is used to compress air, which - in turn - provides the energy to run the motor. Any indirect step in energy usage results in loss. For conventional combustion motor cars, the energy is lost when oil is converted to usable fuel - including drilling, refinement, labor and storage. For compressed-air cars, energy is lost when electrical energy is converted to compressed air.

Further disadvantages:

According to thermodynamics, when air is expanded in the engine, it cools via adiabatic cooling and thereby loses pressure, reducing the amount of power passed the engine at lower temperatures. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain or restore the temperature of the compressed or compressing air using a heat exchanger due to the high rate of flow. The ideal isothermic energy capacity of the tank will therefore not be realized. Low temperatures may also encourage the engine to ice up.
Refueling the compressed air container using a home or low-end conventional air compressor may take as long as 4 hours. Service stations may have specialized equipment that may take only 3 minutes.
Early tests have demonstrated the limited storage capacity of the tanks; the only published test of a vehicle running on compressed air alone was limited to a range of 7.22 km.
A 2005 study demonstrated that cars running on lithium-ion batteries out-perform both compressed air and fuel cell vehicles more than three-fold at same speeds. MDI has recently claimed that an air car will be able to travel 140km in urban driving , and have a range of 80 km with a top speed of 110km/h on highways , when operating on compressed air alone.

 

Don, that was an interesting write-up--thanks for that.

I am a little dubious of the claim that a compressed-air car would have zero emissions. That air motor needs lubrication somehow...and the expended air is bound to carry away some oil particulates. (I'm not saying it would be a huge amount nor that the idea should be scrapped on that potential problem alone.)

Jason