MDI’s OneCAT
Posted on 03/30/2007 7:17:49 PM PDT by Rick_Michael
A car with an air-compressed engine will be able to drive around 124 miles or eight hours for just under $2.
The OneCAT, created by Moteur Development International (MDI) Founder Guy Nègre, can reach a speed of 68 mph and can cover about 124 miles, or eight hours of travel, which is more than double the road coverage of an electric car. When recharging the tank, the car needs to connect to an outlet for three to four hours or attach to an air pump at a gas station for two minutes.
Economy and the ecological benefits are the main advantages for the client since the car´s maintenance cost is 10 times less than that of a gasoline-powered car.
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The vehicle (www.theaircar.com) gets its power from 90 cubic meters of compressed air stored in fiber tanks. The expansion of air pushes the pistons and creates movement. The atmospheric temperature re-heats the engine and increases the road coverage. The air conditioning system makes use of the expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion and the fact there is no pollution, the oil change (one liter of vegetable oil) is only necessary every 31,000 miles.
At the moment, MDI has four models, a car, a taxi (five passengers), a pick-up truck, and a van. The final selling price will be $10,800 (£5,500).
MDI, founded in Luxembourg, based in the south of France, with commercial offices in Barcelona, has researched and developed the Air Car over 10 years, and the technology has more than 30 international patents.
MDI already signed with 50 factories in Europe, America, and Asia. The company is offering 20 licenses in the U.K. as exclusive manufacturing areas for cars as well as offering other licenses in the nautical and public transport sectors.
The company just signed a deal with Tata Motors in India to develop a new and cost-saving technology for applications for the Indian market.
The company is initially looking to produce 3,000 cars each year, with 70 staff working one eight-hour shift a day.
MDI developed two technologies to meet different needs. One is the single energy compressed air engines, and the other is dual energy compressed air plus fuel engines
The single energy engines will be available in Minicats and Citycats. These engines are for use in the city use, where the maximum speed is lower and the need for an environmentally safer car is greater.
The duel energy engine, on the other hand, can see use in the city, but also the open road. The engines will work exclusively with compressed air while it is running under 50 km/h in urban areas. When the car hits speeds over 50 km/h, the engines will switch to fuel mode. The engine will be able to use gasoline, gas oil, bio diesel, gas, liquidized gas, ecological fuel, and alcohol.
The engine types will be available with two, four, and six cylinders. When the air tanks are empty, the driver will be able to switch to fuel mode, thanks to the car’s on board computer.
This engine (for more information, click on www.theaircar.com/howitworks.html) has four two-stage pistons, i.e. eight compression and/or expansion chambers. They have two functions: to compress ambient air and refill the storage tanks; and to make successive expansions (reheating air with ambient thermal energy) thereby approaching isothermic expansion.
Its steering wheel is equipped with a 5kW electric moto-alternator. This motor acts as the:
No clutch is necessary. The engine is idle when the car is stationary, and the vehicle starts via the magnetic plate which re-engages the compressed air. The electric motor allows for the parking capabilities.
For related information, go to www.isa.org/manufacturing_automation.
Watch video below
Now that is good information.
Not speculation that it "can't possibly work", but history of failure to follow through on promises.
Yes, I'm serious. These are not parts factories. Last I checked, there were not 50 Accord factories, and the Accord does massive volume. ROFLMAO.
BS. Rank BS.
John Chapter 6 verse 60-66
John 6:60-66
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Where did the article say they were not parts factories ??
All it said was that MDI had signed with 50 factories. It didn't say those were final assembly plants.
In verse 60, they sound like a bunch of pseudo conservative political hacks on FR claiming the people can't handle the "hard" truth of conservatism, so we must never put forth another Goldwater or Reagan in view of the fearful popularity of the all powerful left/MSM complex.
Our tornado just mowed the grass on our pathetic dirt roof!!! So we moved in with the Pawnee in their teepee. We were so poor we couldn't even pay their rent on their tent! There! That's poorness so powerful it even rhymes!!! (poetic poorness)
Not BS. Five miles per kwh is achievable in the real world for electric vehicles. A five passenger sedan should use less energy than a Rav4 EV, and here is a real-world report on the Rav4 EV:
Notice this paragraph:
"My range record (and I don't try for max range very often!) per charge was accomplished 08.21.05. I drove 133 miles on 100% SOC. Two people in the car, plus the portable charger in back. Twisty, hilly drive with many stops at the beginning and end. Heavy AC use for one full leg of the two-way trip. Final score: 191 Wh/mile consumed = 5.2 miles per KWh"
Or the GM EV1 which used only 164wh/mile:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/avta/pdfs/fsev/eva_results/genmot.pdf
Even the Dodge TEVan only used 400wh/mile. Certainly a well-designed five passenger sedan would have better aerodynamics than a mini-van. Even the TEVan would cost only 4 cents per mile for the electricity -- equivalent to 80 cents per gallon gasoline for the regular ICE mini-van.
The cost of the electricity is minor compared to the cost of battery replacement.
Find formulas here. Scroll down to read and see the damage caused by exploding 72 cu. ft. aluminum SCUBA tank at a re-filling station.
http://biobug.org/scuba/scubatank/
300 bars is about 4,500 psi; my home compressor wakes up the neighbors before it reaches 120 psi.
To pump one cubic meter takes about 9 minutes so 90 cubic meters would require at least 90 minutes if the power was proportional to the load which it isn't.
4-5 hours or more of deafening racket in your garage while you desperately need to rest before you awake to fend off your red eyed, sleep-deprived fence buddy could get tiresome after a day or so.
A 20 HP engine will have an air demand of roughly 90CFM so theoretically on level ground a frictionless vehicle could run for 308 minutes; real world efficiencies, friction, accessories, etc. we can allow only 25-30% so we allow the claim of 124 miles traveled at much lower speeds than 60MPH but still have a small problem of where the energy to run the compressor come from.
Going back to my first caveat concerning noise, the linked video has an accompanying sound level that almost drowns out the narrator so it is safe to assume that any attempts to muffle the "engine" will result in a concomitant reduction in transmitted power.
All in all it sounds as though this a bit hard to take lying down without a pillow stuffed in your ears.
>>And in the end, that source of origin is fossil fuel (except for solar cells.)
Nuclear, wind, tidal ...
Did I mention there was 22 in my family? We had hand me down cloths the problem was my older sibling was a girl. You can't help but to get into fights when your wearing a dress.
Well... Us kids weren't so numerous, but we was so poor that momma used to cut the bottoms of our pockets out so's we'd have somethin ta play with!!!
They use carbon-fiber for the tanks instead of metal. They said it splits and cracks to avoid the shrapnel risk.
No, it wouldn’t. It’s Carbon Fiber.
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