Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air? - Jalopnik Comments

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

MilburnKabobular — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:29:54 EDT

I can't imagine compressed air, of an amount limited to the volume of the car bottom, powering it for 125 miles, so I did some math: 125 miles at 65 mph is 2 hours running time. The energy expended will be re-charged in 3 minutes by the air compressor. If it takes, say, 25 hp to power this car for 2 hours then (2x60/3 x 25 =) 1,000 hp is required to replenish the same energy to the compressed air in 3 minutes at 100% efficiency. Furthermore, when the compressed air expands to produce 25x2 hp.hrs of work, assuming it's isothermal, the initial pressure must start at 8,900 psi--a potential bomb! Calculating: 50 hp.hrs = 1.2x10^9 in.lbs (W) and 340 litres = 2.075x10^4 cu.ins. (V). Formula for isothermal expansion: W = PxVxLoge(P/14.7), so 5.7x10^4 = PxLoge(P/14.7), where P iterates to 8.9x10^3, or 8,900 psi. Assuming an overall system efficiency of 50%, the electric motor, driving a huge compressor, will be 2,000 hp! You don't plug this into the 120v wall socket; you install a 2300/4160v, 3 phase bus system in the gas station (now a sub-station). With the 2,000 HP synchronous electric motor and the multi-stage centrifugal or reciprocating 10,000 psi compressor, the investment for a gas station would be astronomical. Someone's pulling our leg! Have they actually run their cars?

MilburnKabobular

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

skulldriveshaft — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:25:20 EST

@THEBIKE45 saywha? You need to see some more recent stats.

Anyways, just went through their site [www.theaircar.com] - it looks like a rough translation from french to english, and some of the links are still linked up with the old french pages, so a little back tracking.

There are some videos to see and hear the car itself, and if they've been allowed to be tested on public roads then we're not going to be waiting that long before a few more people know about them on this side of the pond.

I'm okay with a commuter pod to go around from work - the rest of the time, let me go hoonin :]

skulldriveshaft

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

thebike45 — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:29:32 EST

This is ancient news - compressed air cars are horribly inefficient, since compressed air is horribly inefficient as an energy storage technology. The stats I've seen is that compressed air can only be used at low speeds and has little in the way of range. All of them are hybrids that depend on gasoline to actually get anywhere.

thebike45

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

SexCpotatoes — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:21:54 EST

Aaaaand your engine sounds like a full blown air compressor running in a car with no sound deadening. Have fun going deaf.

SexCpotatoes

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there! — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:21:46 EST

@beercheck: If you're lucky they might do your battery...

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there!

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

beercheck — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:47:47 EST

@beercheck: That wasn't supposed to be a question.

beercheck

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

beercheck — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:44:46 EST

Wonder what the garage will charge for a blow job?

beercheck

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

Schweppes - Now with more beard — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:02:49 EST

@Travis Hudson
You only got to use compressed air in your shop class race cars? My school used model rocket motors, so the car I built had real flames coming out of the back of it - as it broke free at the end of the track and continued on into a brick wall, destroying itself. Most of the class used metal for their cars, I used tape reinforced styrofoam with a popsicle stick subframe for the motor and wheel mounts to keep the weight down (and win).

Schweppes - Now with more beard

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

ReppintheTempo — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:54:45 EST

@STR8SIX: OMG

ReppintheTempo

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

NovaloadMissesPolar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:53:51 EST

So in the near future a young hoon will glare at his enemy in the lane beside him and say, "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your doors off!"

NovaloadMissesPolar

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

beercheck — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:44:37 EST

@thunder: From that aircar site:

"...in three words: the future is now."

beercheck

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there! — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:13:15 EST

At this rate it won't be that long before somebody invents a way of being environmentally friendly without looking stupid.

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there!

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

wishnevsky — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:40:52 EST

Compressed air is a good energy storage idea, Scientific American has an article about compressed air storage for major solar power plants this month.

wishnevsky

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

acarr260 — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:37:05 EST

Some guy (in India I think) has been driving around a truck that runs on compressed air. He built it himseslf. I think it was on this site or gizmodo a while back.

acarr260

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

thunder — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:28:37 EST

Gee, didn't one of your commentors mention this the other day? I wonder who that was?

My kids have had air-powered AirHog planes and cars for a long time. I've always thought that the concept was great, and wondered if it could be scaled up to automotive size & run efficiently. The Mental Floss article links to the developer of the air engine, and they're working on a version that will run on air or petrol; air for low speeds and gas for highway speeds. Lots of interesting tech stuff on that aircar.com link.

thunder

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

poxpopulus — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:27:46 EST

Eagerly awaiting the tuner version.

poxpopulus

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

The Name's Ash78, Housewares — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:25:14 EST

Play artist "Air Supply"

/does it have SYNC?

The Name's Ash78, Housewares

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

STR8SIX — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:12:21 EST

I wonder if the air is supplied by the driver through a hose like the one on Christopher Reeve's electric wheel chair.

STR8SIX

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

Buckster — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:51:36 EST

@htrodblder: Get a hooker to suck start it.

Buckster

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

htrodblder — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:42:27 EST

whats the back up plan, a tire pump?

htrodblder

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

Feds — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:35:15 EST

Imagining the engine note of the future, can we call it the Fart Car?

Feds

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

TCameron — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:31:47 EST

I thought tatas favored either some sort or plastic or saline solution.

TCameron

Huffing and Puffing: Tata Electric Car To Run on Compressed Air?

Mike the Dog — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:31:21 EST

Looks interesting. "Mostly air- and fuel-driven motor" piques my curiosity a bit, though. Early news reports didn't mention that...

Mike the Dog