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Coming soon, the car that runs on air: Peugeot Citroen unveil new 117mpg hybrid
dailymail.co.uk ^ | 1-22-13 | By Ruth Sunderland

Posted on 01/23/2013 2:21:05 AM PST by rawhide

•Peugeot Citroen invents technology for air car ready for the market by 2016 •'Hybrid Air' engine system runs on petrol and air, instead of electricity •Company predicts 'Hybrid Air' to achieve 117 miles per gallon by 2020 French car giant PSA Peugeot Citroen believes it can put an air- powered vehicle on the road by 2016.

Its scientists say it will knock 45 per cent off fuel bills for an average motorist. And when driving in towns and cities costs could be slashed by as much as 80 per cent because the car will be running on air for four-fifths of the time.

The system works by using a normal internal combustion engine, special hydraulics and an adapted gearbox along with compressed air cylinders that store and release energy. This enables it to run on petrol or air, or a combination of the two.

Air power would be used solely for city use, automatically activated below 43mph and available for ‘60 to 80 per cent of the time in city driving’. By 2020, the cars could be achieving an average of 117 miles a gallon, the company predicts.

The air compression system can re-use all the energy normally lost when slowing down and braking. The motor and a pump are in the engine bay, fed by a compressed air tank underneath the car, running parallel to the exhaust.

The revolutionary new ‘Hybrid Air’ engine system – the first to combine petrol with compressed air – is a breakthrough for hybrid cars because expensive batteries will no longer be needed.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: airpowered; automakers; energy; france; hybrid; peugeot
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To: rawhide
Peugeot Citroen unveil new 117mpg hybrid

Great concept, if the car could only make it 117 miles without requiring a visit to the mechanic.

21 posted on 01/23/2013 4:05:23 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Moltke
How do they make the process adiabatic?

Not completely adiabatic, but you insulate the storage tanks and tubing.

22 posted on 01/23/2013 4:11:25 AM PST by Paradox (Unexpected things coming for the next few years.)
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To: rawhide
Its scientists say it will knock 45 per cent off fuel bills for an average motorist.

But will the average motorist be able to afford one ??? Don't see any mention of the price but I'm guessing not...

23 posted on 01/23/2013 4:11:49 AM PST by Mopp4
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To: rawhide

Citroen and Renault.......

Two reason why the French are known for their wines.


24 posted on 01/23/2013 4:14:16 AM PST by fredhead (I'm not losing my hair, it's just retired and relocating further south.)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

Just remember to take along a air mattress hand pump for those long drives.

Thanks rawhide.


25 posted on 01/23/2013 4:14:55 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: rawhide

“...reuse all the energy lost when slowing down or breaking...” I don’t think so. There will be leaks. There well be friction. There will be heating of the fluid (air) during compression that then bleeds away... The real question is, even with all these losses, can they make the system more efficient than anelectrical regenerative braking system? Oh, being lighter, smaller, cheaper, safer, and longer lasting would be nice too.


26 posted on 01/23/2013 4:31:31 AM PST by ThunderSleeps (Stop obama now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
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To: rawhide
Video - Air powered cars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMkDU-Tc4Rw&feature=youtube_gdata_player


27 posted on 01/23/2013 4:42:42 AM PST by preacher (Communism has only killed 100 million people: Let's give it another chance!)
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To: Mopp4
(and it's £1,000 cheaper than a Prius)

Part of the headline, but no room for it here on FR.

28 posted on 01/23/2013 4:45:25 AM PST by rawhide
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To: Sherman Logan

[The process also condenses a LOT of water out of the compressed air...]

[...running parallel to the exhaust.]

Perhaps placing the compressed air tank next to a heated source solves that problem.


29 posted on 01/23/2013 4:47:10 AM PST by RetSignman ("A Republic if you can keep it"....)
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To: rawhide

We're going to need a bigger car.

30 posted on 01/23/2013 4:57:28 AM PST by Moonman62 (The US has become a government with a country, rather than a country with a government.)
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To: rawhide
(and it's £1,000 cheaper than a Prius) Part of the headline, but no room for it here on FR.

Don't worry. It's all vaporware anyway.

31 posted on 01/23/2013 4:59:41 AM PST by Moonman62 (The US has become a government with a country, rather than a country with a government.)
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To: rawhide
I just like watching the French getting slapped.
32 posted on 01/23/2013 5:03:19 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: rawhide
The air compression system can re-use all the energy normally lost when slowing down and braking.

A true free lunch. The weight of batteries is eliminated. Exploding gas cylinders are a concern, but the tanks will probably be constructed from fiberglass. Fiberglass tanks puncture and burst, but they don't produce shrapnel, like metal tanks. Could be a great urban vehicle.

33 posted on 01/23/2013 5:07:06 AM PST by St_Thomas_Aquinas
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To: Moonman62
Peugeot, in the article, states they plan also include this technology later in this car:

Peugeot 508

34 posted on 01/23/2013 5:09:03 AM PST by rawhide
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To: Sherman Logan

But don’t forget that the weight of batteries is eliminated. That’s a lot of weight. But yeah, the 117 mph claim is hard to believe.


35 posted on 01/23/2013 5:11:56 AM PST by St_Thomas_Aquinas
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To: rawhide

All of my cars, since my ‘57 Chevy, ran on “petrol and air”.

But, they each weighed more and were less fragile than a 10oz. bag of chips.


36 posted on 01/23/2013 5:22:19 AM PST by G Larry (Which of Obama's policies do you think I'd support if he were white?)
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Air is not a fuel. The car really runs on whatever fuel is used to power the compressor (coal, natural gas, nuclear, etc.) Air is not the fuel...it’s an energy storage system like a battery.


37 posted on 01/23/2013 5:48:52 AM PST by 762X51
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To: rawhide
So how devastating is the explosion when the air tank is compromised during a collision?
38 posted on 01/23/2013 5:49:27 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (TYRANNY: When the people fear the politicians. LIBERTY: When the politicians fear the people.)
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To: Truth29

lol...my Ford Expedition sh*t one of these this morning...


39 posted on 01/23/2013 5:54:21 AM PST by ItsOurTimeNow ("This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around.")
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To: rawhide
I assume they've accounted for the explosive energy associated with compressed air tanks, as well as the temperature changes associated with charging/venting air bottles and the requirement for periodic hydrostatic testing.

This is what's left of a man's garage after he bumped into a scuba tank while parking. From the 1/5/2011 Fayetteville Observer...

"A scuba tank explosion in a west Fayetteville home injured a nationally known videographer and his wife, who is a photographer for The Fayetteville Observer. Rick Allen bumped into a cannister of compressed oxygen in the couple's garage around 11:30 p.m. Monday, knocking it to the ground. The explosion was so strong that it blew out a wall between the garage and a bathroom, where Allen's wife, Cindy Burnham, was brushing her teeth. Allen was in critical condition Tuesday at UNC Hospitals' Jaycee Burn Center, a spokesman said. Burnham was treated for facial cuts at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and released.

Matt Blashfield, a neighbor on Partridge Court, was watching television at home when he heard an incredibly loud blast. "At first, I thought it was Fort Bragg," he said, "but a millisecond later, I said 'no way.' " Blashfield went to the scene where a garage door was blown into the yard, along with bumpers from the couple's vehicles. One of Allen's hands was severed by the blast, but he used a garden hose with his other hand to douse flames from the flash fire."

Bottom line, there's a helluva lot of explosive power in an air tank which requires just a puncture to release.

40 posted on 01/23/2013 5:54:52 AM PST by Jonah Hex ("To Serve Manatee" is a cookbook!)
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