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
Of course you can make a car that runs on compressed air. That is not the part the defies physics. I'm sorry, and I mean no personal offense, but you clearly just "want to believe", and so you believe. The claims made in this article are outrageous, and anyone looking at them with an open mind and a basic understanding of physics sees that in the first few sentences.
Most of these miracle, alternative energy vehicles are what I would call "displaced energy" vehicles. They look great on paper but energy isn't free; that grim reaper of acceleration will come around and demand his due. If it means dozens more coal-fired power plants then I guess they can just pay Algore for some carbon absolution credits, or if it means nuclear energy, they will just have to flagellate themselves in their tortured guilt. Someone's gotta put a dime in that thing. We're gonna need more dimes.
My point, in case you missed it, was that a private company would loose it's pants if the millions it spent on Research and development was for an idea that losses in the market place. Pay attention, free market capitalism being taught here.
Don't want an air powered car? Don't buy one -- the company fails. Air cars disappear from the market. Think you'd like an air powered car to tool around town in? Buy the car -- the company succeeds to make more cars...and so on, and so on.
If another company is making a fuel cell car and can demonstrate cheap and easy refueling...buy that car if you like.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing at all. Companies have a way of responding to the market...filling a need...giving people something they want to scratch that itch, you know?
but the real winner would be;
Respect his authority!
I wonder how many miles one could get from using compressed natural gas with the effluent feeding an internal combustion engine.
Like the husband who was caught with his mistress said to his wife: "Now who are you going to believe, me or you're lying eyes?"
I saw the car working quite nicely.
If you persist, at some point I'll have to ask you to smile when you say that, pardner.
I'm not doubting that you can run a car on compressed air. I made that clear in my last post. Therefore, your entire post to me is a waste of time.
Right, they transfer energy from one form to another, and then ignore the orignal source of energy. That is exactly what this is all about.
I'm still waiting to hear the part about why this is a bad idea for a company to build a car that runs on air...and for a large purchaser, Mexico City, to buy that car? Something about physics, I think?
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.
Doesn't that, in and of itself, raise a red flag in your mind that the story is BS? 50 factories? Does any other car use 50 factories? Have you ever heard of economy of scale? Nobody would use 50 factories. It is just a BS number thrown out there to make you think "wow" 50 factories. Also, they are "offering" 20 licenses. First of all, offering them doesn't mean anything. Secondly, why 20 licenses? Is any other car in England manufactured on such a basis? No, why not?
When you get emails from Nigeria, do you look up the details of every single one in order to determine if they are true? Or, are the language and the claims made so absurd that you don't need to? I would suggest to you that this article is almost as absurd as an email from Nigeria.
They have been pushing this car for at least 10 years now.
They have been "ready for production" the whole time.
Promised factories have never shown up, promised orders either.
This car has absolutely nothing to do with the compressed air engine starter motors used in F1, and elsewhere all over the world.
Every year or so, they trot the story out to gain investors.
Here is a story from 2000. It was ready to go then, too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/988265.stm
Another
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/992431.stm
If you will look around you will see all sorts of claims going way back from this same guy.
$2 compared to $44 for the last fill up I got? A no-brainer! I wouldn't care if it looks funny.
First, the car doesn't run on air. The car runs on energy with compressed air as the medium for the transmission of the energy. Now, why would it be a bad idea for Mexico City to purchase a car that goes 15 miles per hour for 8 hours? Does that need to be answered?
Would it make you feel better if the electricity used to compress the air into the tanks was derived from nuclear power? You know, no air pollution issues, low cost of energy production, and so on?
Or how about hydroelectric source for the electricity?
Or what if you're generating your own electricity in some fashion in the near future. How would that change the equation of why the air car is a stupid idea?
Let's see.
The energy to compress the air will come from some sort of power plant. The Carnot equation limits a coal, nuclear, or natural gas power plant to around 33% efficiency. The remaining 66% of the energy that the power plant uses has to be dumped into the air or water as waste heat.
There are additional system losses as the electrical power is sent through the power grid to the filling station. The electric motors that drive the compressors can't be 100 percent efficient. Also, when you compress air it heats up. If the air is allowed to cool down then a lot of energy is lost right there. Some will be reclaimed if you warm the engine with ambient air while the engine runs but you'll only get back a a small portion of the energy that was dumped as heat during compression of the air.
All told the losses will likely give you an end to end energy efficiency substantially lower than the 24 percent of a typical car engine . With a high compression narrow rpm optimized engine you can have 33 to 36 percent.
Compressed air CAN'T be more energy efficient overall than burning liquid fuel in an internal combustion engine. If the $2/fillup cost figure is accurate then they are based on using a source of energy that costs much less per therm than gasoline. Maybe taxes are a big part of the cost difference they claim. The affected governments will quickly correct that problem is they start losing revenue.
As a energy storage medium for a hybrid compressed air may make more economic sense than batteries even though batteries are nearly 100% efficient in terms of elecricity in / electricity out. Other energy storage systems that may have potential are kinetic energy in spinning flywheels, hydraulic accumulators and lithium heat storage.
Does the AirCar use regenerative braking and pump air back into the tank when slowing down?
The reason it is a stupid idea is the tremendous amount of energy required to compress the air enough to make it viable.
If you haven't yet, read links 92, and 94. This guy and this car are a total fraud.
Aligncare, please read Unchained's post. This is a fraud. Stop wanting to believe, and it is obvious.
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