«——【Preamble】】 ——»
In recent years, trams and petrol cars have been controversial, each with its own disadvantages and advantages, so why not develop a driving force that neither pollutes the environment nor recycles?
So, some scientists have proposed an air-driven car, so is this experiment successful? Can it be promoted in the future?
«——【Controversy caused by automobiles·】——»
At present, the development of automobile power technology has entered a new stage, although the traditional fuel internal combustion engine has played an important role, but it emits exhaust gases containing a large number of harmful substances.
Such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, etc., these substances not only exacerbate environmental pollution, but also increasingly aggravate the pace of global warming.
An internal combustion engine fueled by gasoline releases heat when ignited, and this part of the heat is not fully utilized in the process of doing work, resulting in a waste of energy.
In addition, gasoline, as a non-renewable fossil fuel, will eventually run out of reserves one day, and it is undoubtedly undesirable to rely too much on this fuel.
In order to cope with the increasingly severe environmental problems, new energy vehicles came into being, and electric vehicles were once considered the best alternative to solve the pollution of fuel vehicles because of their pollution-free and efficient characteristics.
Electric vehicles are powered by the on-board battery that supplies the drive motor without any exhaust emissions while driving.
However, the production of batteries and how to recycle them after they are scrapped have become the biggest challenges for electric vehicles.
The battery production process consumes a lot of metal resources, and some of them are non-renewable resources, which is contrary to the concept of environmental protection.
In addition, if end-of-life batteries are not disposed of properly, the heavy metals in them can cause serious pollution to soil and water sources.
Faced with the battery dilemma of electric vehicles, scientists urgently need to develop new environmentally friendly and energy-saving power technologies.
Based on this, the black technology of air engine came into being. As one of the most abundant resources on earth, using air as a power source is not only environmentally friendly, but also inexpensive.
Not only that, the use of air as power has a simpler and more intuitive working principle than other new energy technologies, which undoubtedly brings great potential for its future promotion and application.
We have reason to believe that the air engine will become another major breakthrough in the development of automotive power technology.
«——【·Air Drive·】——»
On April 5, 2021, in the Xiang'an Campus of Xiamen University, a car drove quietly, looking no different from other cars.
But this is not an ordinary car, it is equipped with the world's first air energy engine, this engine by the university professor Xu Hydropower led the team after 30 years of painstaking research and came out, its principle seems simple, but in fact it is very scientific and technological innovation.
The core principle of the air energy engine is to use compressed air as a power source, first, the air compressor is used to compress the air to form a high-pressure gas, and then the high-pressure gas is stored in a special pressure tank.
Compared with the traditional internal combustion engine, the air engine has incomparable advantages, first of all, it is lightweight, the whole engine is only about 20 kilograms, which is more than ten times lighter than the general internal combustion engine.
The second is that the structure is simple, and there is no complex air intake system, ignition system, etc., which greatly reduces the manufacturing cost.
What's more, it adopts a continuously variable transmission design, eliminating the traditional gearbox and further reducing weight.
Air is everywhere and an inexhaustible resource. Using air as power, it is theoretically possible to realize the dream of unlimited mileage without refueling.
The compressor stores the compressed air on the car, and the sufficient power source can be driven straight forward with the car, and what is even more gratifying is that if the engine is properly designed, even if all the compressed air fuel is used up on the road, the owner can easily replenish it with the help of a simple compression device on the roadside, and there is no "difficulty in refueling" concerns.
The air engine not only brings good news to the majority of consumers, but also has milestone significance for the development of the entire automobile industry.
An engine with zero emissions, zero pollution, and never running out of fuel will definitely improve the quality of human life and the environment.
It is foreseeable that in the future, the world's automobile industry will one day fully transform to clean and environmentally friendly, and air engines will become the backbone of this revolution.
«——[·has been in research and development for a long time·]——»
Although Xiamen University's air engine is regarded as an epoch-making black technology, in fact, the power of compressed air is not new.
As early as the early 20th century, scientists began to explore the possibility of compressed air as a power, and although the road to exploration was tortuous and difficult, it also accumulated valuable experience for those who came after them.
At the end of the 30s of the last century, a small and unknown company in France created a three-wheeled aerodynamic car.
This is probably the world's first vehicle powered by compressed air, and although the performance parameters of this tricycle are not ideal, it marks the first successful application of the energy of compressed gas to the field of automobile propulsion.
In the 80s of the 20th century, American engineer Tari Miller transformed an ordinary internal combustion engine into a compressed air powered one.
In the early 90s, the French vehicle manufacturer G. Nagel became the first person in the world to receive a patent for an air compression engine.
After years of investment, the company has finally developed an aerokinetic vehicle with a range of up to 200 kilometers in a single trip, which marks a new level in compressed air drive technology.
At present, the R&D teams mainly use piston compressors or scroll compressors, the former is simple and reliable in structure but large in volume and weight, and the latter is small in size but requires high manufacturing accuracy.
In the future, innovative designs may be needed to re-optimize the structure and operating principle of the compressor to obtain a more integrated and high-performance compression system.
In short, as a new power technology, the biggest challenge of air engine is how to carry out systematic and comprehensive engineering design to truly solve the problems of energy storage, energy transmission and control.
Only by overcoming these technical difficulties can this technology finally be put into practical production and popularized and applied on a large scale in combination with automobile design.
«——【·Advantages and Cons·】——»
The emergence of air engines has undoubtedly brought a new choice of transportation power to human beings. Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, electric vehicles, etc., what are its advantages and disadvantages?
From the point of view of advantages, first of all, the zero-emission, environmentally friendly and pollution-free air engine does not require any fuel combustion during the whole operation process, and will not produce a trace of exhaust gas or other harmful substance emissions, which is absolutely zero burden on the environment. The second is that the energy source is never exhausted and the cost is low.
The earth's air stock is already extremely abundant, and the technical threshold for compressed air storage is low, which can greatly reduce the cost of use.
The third advantage is that the structure is simple and easy to manufacture. Compared to complex internal combustion engines or electric motors, air engines have relatively few components and are manufactured in a more intuitive and concise manner.
This not only reduces the production cost, but also reduces the difficulty of maintenance, and the fourth point is that the air engine adopts a continuously variable speed design, abandoning the traditional gearbox, which is lighter in weight and less noise.
However, there are also drawbacks to air engines that cannot be ignored. First, there is the issue of range. At present, the volume of the mainstream gas storage tank cannot carry too much weight, and excessive increase in volume will lead to a sharp increase in weight and floor space, which cannot meet the requirements of lightweight.
Therefore, the cruising range of ordinary aerodynamic vehicles is generally only about 100-200 kilometers, and there is a significant gap between fuel vehicles and electric vehicles.
The second is a safety hazard, compressed air is an extremely violent form of energy, once the gas tank is damaged, it will cause a violent explosion.
Therefore, the gas tank must be designed and manufactured with great care and protected from the elements, otherwise the risk of explosion in the vehicle is everywhere.
The third is the problem of air supply, unlike electric vehicles that can be charged everywhere, once the air power vehicle runs out of compressed air on the road, it must find the air source supply device before continuing to drive, otherwise there is nothing to be done, which brings certain obstacles to the future popularization of air engines.
In addition, compared with electric vehicles, which are also new energy vehicles, air engines are also lacking in energy efficiency and energy density.
Therefore, in order to obtain higher power and longer cruising range, in addition to improving the compression ratio, it is necessary to further optimize the design of engine pistons, cylinder blocks and other components.
Therefore, it can be said that air engines have unique advantages, but there are still many key technologies to be broken and improved in order to be successfully commercialized and applied on a large scale in the automotive field.
In order for any emerging technology to be truly put into practical use, it must overcome many difficulties from theory to large-scale production.
As a new transportation power technology, there are still some bottlenecks in the air engine.
However, as long as we maintain the infinite imagination and persistent pursuit of scientific and technological progress, the possibility that it will be applied on a large scale and replace the traditional internal combustion engine in the future is entirely existent.
«——【·Conclusion·】——»
It is not difficult to foresee that in the near future, if the core technology of air engine can achieve breakthroughs, it will surely set off a new revolution in the automobile industry and even the entire transportation industry.
Instead of the gasoline and electric vehicles that fill the streets of cities, they will be replaced by noiseless, emission-free, low-cost aerodynamic vehicles.
Information sources:
- "Xiamen University Releases Scientific Research Results on Air Energy Engines", China News Network, April 7, 2021
2. "Application Prospect of Compressed Air Powered Vehicles", Shanghai Energy Conservation, 2018