Seminar Report

on

COMPRESSED AIR HYBRID VEHICLE

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements

For the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Technology

In

Mechanical Engineering

Submitted by

Jothish

(NSS15ME069)

Guided by

Dr. Sajeesh P

Asst. Professor

November 2018

Department of Mechanical Engineering

N. S. S. College of Engineering, Palakkad-678008

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 Department of Mechanical Engineering

N. S. S. College of Engineering

Palakkad-678008

Certificate

This is to certify that the seminar entitled COMPRESSED AIR HYBRID

VEHICLE has

been presented by JOTHISH towards the partial fulfilment for the award of

Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical

Engineering under University of APJ ABDUL KALAM TECHNOLOGICAL

UNIVERSITY for the year 2018

GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

Dr. Sajeesh P Dr. R Sudhir Kumar
Asst .Professor Professor
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Place: Palakkad
Date: 10/02/2018

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 Acknowledgement

Any attempt at any level cannot be satisfactorily completed without the support and guidance
of learned people. I owe to great many people whose constant support and motivation that has
encouraged me to come up with this project.

I am greatly obliged to Prof. Dr R. Sudhir Kumar, Head of the Department, Department of

Mechanical Engineering, for the encouragement and support that he has provided.

I am immensely indebted to my very understanding seminar guide, Dr. Sajeesh P, Asst.

Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, for his constructive criticism, guidance and
advice.

I also thank our staff in charge, Dr. Pramod .V.R, Department of mechanical Engineering from
the bottom of my heart for all his help and advice.

I am thankful to my friends for their whole hearted co-operation during the preparation of my
seminar. Last but not the least I wish my gratitude to my parents for their abundant blessing
without which this seminar would not be successful.

Jothish

Dept Of Mechanical Engineering

NSS College of Engineering

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 Abstract

In the modern era of climate crisis, petroleum dependence, and volatile gasoline price, it is
necessary to engineer or design an alternative to present gasoline vehicles. One such alternative
is hybrid vehicles. Now a day’s most of the vehicles use internal combustion engines (ICE).
Increasing fuel efficiency of this engine has always been a major challenge. Hybrid vehicles
have helped us to solve this problem to an extent. The well-known hybrid technology is hybrid
electric. Since the price of hybrid electric automobile is high and it is not completely green
because of the battery replacement issues, triggered an innovation in hybrid technology called
compressed air hybrid technology (CAV).

The CAV uses a combination of ICE and compressed air as power source. The CAV is
incorporated with regenerative breaking so that the breaking power is utilized to compress the
air. The power from the compressed air is utilized to run the ICE directly or with an aid of
pneumatic motor. The main purpose of this model is to offer economic and environmental
benefits over other conventional vehicles. This seminar is study of compressed air hybrid
technology in vehicles.

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 Contents
Topic Page No.

Certificate 2

Acknowledgements 3

Abstract 4

Contents 5

List of figures 6

List of tables 7

1 Introduction 7-8
2 History 9
3 Compressed Air Hybrid Vehicle 3-10
3.1 Design of hybrid 10-12
3.1.1 Series configuration 11
3.1.2 Parallel configuration 11
3.1.3 Mixed configuration 12
3.2 Components 13-16
3.2.1 Regenerative breaking system 13
3.2.2 Control system and valve 14
3.2.3 Pneumatic/Hydraulic propulsion system 15-16
3.3 Prototype of CAHV 17-18
3.4 Current challenges and future prospects 19-21
3.4.1 Challenges 19-20
3.4.2 Future prospects of CAHV 20-21
5 Conclusion 22
6 References 23

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 List of Figures

Figure Description Page

No no.

3.1 Diagram of types of compressed air hybrid system 10

3.2 Schematic diagram of series configuration of CAHV 11

3.3 Schematic diagram of parallel configuration of CAHV 12

3.4 Diagram of simple pneumatic control circuit to demonstrate the control 14

of air motor mode.
3.5 Diagram of hybrid compressed air engine 15

3.6 Schematic diagram of 3 subsystem CAHV. 16

3.7 .Diagram of Peugeot Citroen prototype. 17

3.8 Flow chart of two and three subsystem hybrid air technology 21

List of Tables

Table No. Description Page

No.
1.1 The fuel consumption for selected model of hybrid vehicle and 7
hybrid system
1.2 Difference in hybrid configurations 12

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 1. Introduction

In the 20th century, advancement in the field of automotive has been increasing rapidly. But
still most of the automobile car manufacturing company still depends on IC engine as the
source of propulsion. This tendency of automobile manufacturing companies has got negative
impacts on the environment and also to the customers because of fluctuating petroleum prices.
But the problem is IC engines cannot be fully replaced because of its several advantages.
Therefore it is necessary to find an alternative solution to this problem and one such alternative
is Hybrid vehicles.

Hybrid vehicles are energy efficient vehicles [EEV’s]. Now a days this EEV’s are given tax
benefits by most of the countries because of its low environmental impacts. Hybrid vehicles
are the vehicles that use two or more different energy as source of power input. The various
types of hybrid model are Hybrid Electric vehicles, Compressed Air Hybrid Vehicle, Hybrid
Hydraulics. In hybrid electric vehicles IC engine is the primary source of power for propulsion
and battery will act secondary source of power. These vehicles have several advantages like
less emission, improved fuel efficiency etc. The main disadvantage is that it is not completely
green because of the battery replacement issue and high production cost. Whereas the
Compressed Air Hybrid Vehicle or CAHV is an advanced hybrid technology which uses
compressed air as source of power along with IC engine. These vehicles several advantages
like low emission, low cost, no battery replacement issues etc. These vehicles are still in the
verge of research and development. Even though Hybrid electric vehicles have several
disadvantages, they are more salient than other hybrid technology. Hybrid Electric had been
long in the entrance phase of market while the others are still in stage of development and
partly still in research and development. The CAHV is one among them.

Table 1.1. The fuel consumption for selected model of hybrid vehicle and hybrid system

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Fuel use for several types of popular hybrid car is given in the table 1.1. The table also includes the
paradigm of hybrid air vehicle technology to establish the impact of technology on fuel use, as
considerably as the liberation of carbon emission. In the midsize category, Toyota Prius Hybrid car 1.8
L is the most save fuel consumption in all categories; mixed, urban and highway. While in the compact
class, the Toyota Prius C registered 4.7, 4.4 and 5.1 L/100 km in combined category, urban and highway
respectively. For CO2 emission, the Toyota Prius 1.8 L and the Prius C are once again being on top by
producing as low as 111.23 and 110.63 g/km carbon footprint respectively. Based on the table, hybrid
air prototype produced by PSA Peugeot-Citroen has lower fuel consumption compared to hybrid
electric. Making a comparison between the different hybrid systems is not coinciding. However, the
data in the table is only for reference to show that hybrid air also has a considerable fuel-saving
potential. This report is aimed to expose the history, current status, and development of CAHV
technology to the society.

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 2. History

Chronicle shows that compressed air hybrid car revolution began with the invention of a compressed
air vehicle (CAV) since the 19th century. The technology was applied for locomotive and trams in the
cities. The first CAV introduced by the Frenchmen Andraud and Tessie of Motay ran a car powered by
a pneumatic motor on a test track in France on 1840. Then the technology sprouts for the use in transit
street and mining loco-motives in 1870 to 1880s. One of it was created in 1872; Mekarski air engine
was used for street transit. A single cylinder engine propels the air engine.

From 1896 onward Charles B. Hodges succeeded with his invention of the air powered engines and
created a profit selling hundreds of locomotives through the H.K. Porter Company. The inventor of the
first air car, however, has been debated for years. In 1925, a man named Louis C. Kiser, who converted
his gasoline-powered car to run on air. In 1926, Lee Barton Williams claimed to have manufactured the
first air car. Williams claimed the car got up on gasoline, but after 10 mph it switched to compressed
air. In 1931, The Hope Star newspaper of Arkansas ran an article about Roy J. Meyers of Los Angeles
invented the first air car. In 1934, Bob Neal filed a patent application for a pneumatic engine.
Nevertheless, the air engine has been off the road in 1931 which was after World War. In the 1970s,
the world suffered a lack of supplies of petroleum and triggered the interest of researchers to air engine.
In the 1970's the Troyan air mobile was said to be the first air car. Joseph P. Troyan also designed the
air powered flywheel in a closed system. As well, in the 1970's Willard Truitt presented his air car
invention. Because he did not possess the financial means to go to its development, he sold the design
to the U.S. Army and NASA in 1982. In 1974, Russel R. Brown of Texas claimed to have invented the
first air car. In 1975, Sorgato in Italy invented an experimental air car that used nine 196 bar air tank.
In 1976 in Vacaville, California, Ray Starbard developed a compressed air truck. In 1979, Terry Miller
developed Air Car One which only cost him $1500 to build. He patented his car that operated on
compressed air. Inventors Claud Mead, Des Hill, Ricardo Perez-Pomar and George Miller stated that
they had conceived an air car in the 1980's. In 2007, Tata Motors introduced the MDI CityCat developed
by Guy Nègre as the first commercial air car. As of 2009, two more models of MDI air cars have been
showcased.

The revolution of the compressed-air hybrid engine for a passenger car only took off in 1999. This
endeavour is to overcome the disadvantages of CAV and to get the engine to be more pragmatic. The
solutions are recommended by some of the CAV researchers. Up to now, CAV is still in the research
and development phase. Latest model of CAV is developed by Peugeot , PSA Peugeot Citroen Hybrid
Air Car: Citroen C3, Peugeot 208 and 2008.

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 3. Compressed Air Hybrid Vehicle

Compressed Air Hybrid vehicles or CAHV are the latest model in the field of hybrid technologies. It
uses compressed air as a power source along with gasoline engine. Compressed air is stored in the high
pressure on board tank and is used as the propulsion unit. Latest technology regenerative breaking is
coupled with this model, to utilise breaking energy for compression. Like Hybrid Electric, CAHV has
also got 3 modes of operations .Gasoline mode:-In this mode the vehicle runs only on IC engine. It is
optimised for cruising. Combined mode:-In this mode both IC engine and compressed air operates
together. It is optimised for high acceleration and hill climbing. Zero Emission mode:-In this mode the
vehicles runs by compressed air only and hence zero emission.

There are two types of design suggested for CAHV by some of the researchers of CAV; the pneumatic-
combustion hybrid and the air engine hybrid. Two designs have been presented in the research and
development phase called three-subsystem and two-subsystem as illustrated in Fig.3.1. Three-subsystem
consisted of the internal combustion engine as a primary propulsion, hydraulic motor as a secondary
propulsion unit and the compressed air as the power source. Meanwhile, the two-subsystem used
combustion engine as main propulsion and pneumatic as a secondary propulsion unit and the energy
supply.

FIG.3.1 Compressed air hybrid for two and three subsystem

3.1 Design of hybrid

Hybrid system for CAHV can be divided into three designs that are series, parallel, and mix. Each
design has its advantages and disadvantages, respectively.

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3.1.1 Series configuration

In the series drive train, the configuration consisted of the gasoline engine, compressor, air motor, air
reservoir and valves as illustrated in Fig.3.2. On the series arrangement, the air motor directly turns the
wheels. The energy to drive the wheels is supplied in a series from two power sources, the gasoline
engine or the air reservoir, to the air motor. Compressed air in the tank also can be recharged from
regenerative braking and directed to power the air motor. Alternatively, else, the gas engine can be used
to turn the compressor to store the compressed air in the tank. However, in this case, the ICE must be
operated optimum speed to ensure it runs in the highest state of efficiency that brings to low fuel
consumption. Torque at initial speed is expected to be good. However, its impact on high speed still
needs to be examined in-depth as vehicle loads are dynamic. The engine is smaller and more efficient
since it does not power the vehicle directly. Series hybrids should be less complex and more easily
adapted to a broad range of auxiliary systems. Nevertheless, the larger air reservoir is needed to store
the energy of compressed air.

FIG.3.2. Series configuration

3.1.2 Parallel configuration

In parallel drive train, the configuration commonly includes the air motor, gasoline engine, compressor,
air reservoir valves and planetary gear as illustrated in Fig.3.3. The engine and motor are parallel to one
another in the design, and both are connected to the transmission, then turn the wheels. The controllers
are needed to coordinate the engine and the air motor working together either independently or
simultaneously depending on the power needs. Compressed air in the tank is recharged from
regenerative braking, a technology that allows the storage of kinetic energy from coasting and braking.
This form is suited for high speed running. It allows either sources or a combination of the two, to power
the vehicle at any given time. The existence of both propulsion units may minimize the smaller size of
the compressed-air reservoir for energy storage. However, additional components such as planetary
gear and transmission may cause additional weight to the system. The study showed that the design is
practical, but somehow the design is complex.

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 FIG.3.3 Parallel configuration

3.1.3 Mixed configuration

The parallel and series-parallel design can be optimized by introducing supercharger. It gives an extra
performance to the ICE. The supply of compressed air in the tank is used to run the air motor. At the
same time, it is utilized to supply air to the air intake of ICE after going through the heat exchanger as
illustrated in FIG.3.4. More air from the induction means better combustion in the chamber and delivers
higher power and torque. How-ever, this makes the hybrid system becoming increasingly complex and
harder to maintain.

TABLE 1.2. Difference in each hybrid configurations

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3.2. Various components of CAHV

The three main components of CAHV are,

 Regenerative breaking system
 Control system and valves
 Pneumatic or hydraulic propulsion system

3.2.1 Regenerative breaking system

Regenerative breaking system works on the principle of energy recovery to convert kinetic
energy into other forms of energy. In the case of CAHV compressed air used is safe, clean and simple;
however the compression process generates heat, which will cause the efficiency of the system reduced.
Although higher compression gives a massive energy, it will also negatively impact the user in terms
of heat losses and safety. Many alternatives have been done to overcome this problem such as the use
of activated carbon and metal organic framework to increase the capacity of the storage but nothing is
concrete. Meanwhile, in term of design, efforts are put on design optimization, multiple compression,
energy recoveries and thermal boosted concept. The optimization causes the efficiency of storage
capacity to increase. In terms of overall efficiency of a car, regenerative braking can be applied by
utilizing energy loss due to coasting and braking into useful compression energy. There are two types
of regenerative breaking system available in the market,

 Pneumatic regenerative breaking system;-

The air brake or pneumatic brake is very popular and widely utilized in a big vehicle. The
concept is not new. In conventional, the compressed air used by truck and other heavy vehicles
will be discharged into the air as an exhaust. However, in the hybrid concept, the compressed
air is contained in the tank and yet to be used again. Based on the electric and hydraulic re-
generative braking principle, the concept applied to the hybrid air and called as pneumatic
regenerative braking. The pneumatic re-generative braking is applied to turn the compressor to
produce compressed air. Compressed air is then stored in the air tank. The compressed air
energy is then used to move the propulsion units. However, pneumatic regenerative braking is
very rarely used. It is because of the low regeneration efficiency percentage due to heat losses
and energy density issue. The pneumatic regenerative braking system managed to save less
than 10% of fuel consumption. However, the system is applied to the heavy vehicle. A study
conducted on passenger car size has shown that a car with 900 kg weight required 780 L and a
car with 300 kg required 300 L to have 150 km. Nevertheless, the performance of regenerative
braking is still obscure.

 Hydraulic regenerative breaking system;-

It is a combination of hydraulic and pneumatic systems (nitrogen gas). The vehicle’s kinetic
energy is utilized to power a reversible pump when the driver steps on the brake. It sends
hydraulic fluid from a low-pressure hydro-pneumatic accumulator into a high-pressure
accumulator. The force per unit area is created by gas in the tank, which is com-pressed as the
fluid is pumped into a space that the gas formerly occupied. It slows the vehicle and helps bring
it to a halt condition. The fluid remains under pressure in the tank until the driver presses the
pedal for accelerating; the pressurized fluid is flowing to speed up the vehicle. It is effectively
transforming the kinetic energy that the car had before braking, into mechanical energy that
helps take the vehicle back up to move

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3.2.2 Control system and valves

Control system or controller is a pulse in the hybrid system. The system controls the whole vehicle from
the beginning until the engine is turned off. The control system may consist of electronic circuits,
electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic. Meanwhile, the controller is using logic control or programming.
Electronic circuits are more flexible than electrically but sensitive to heat. The hydraulic circuit is used
for higher load than the corresponding pneumatic. The pneumatic is used for the response and lower
load application. In the pneumatic and hydraulic system, the use of valves is unavoidable in the air
motor (AM) mode. It is to ensure that the flow, direction, and pressure can be controlled as illustrated
in Fig3.4. Flow control valve is used to control the movement and speed of the propulsion unit.
Directional control valve determines the process by directing the compressed air. Mean-while, the
pressure control valve is acting as a safety control device of the system that is working under massive
pressure level. Some of the valves require the association of electrical or electronic devices to operate
easily, faster and even more accurate in terms of timing. Planetary gear (also called epicyclical gearing)
and clutch are used to combine the ICE engine and hydraulic motor in parallel and mix configuration.
In ICE mode, the clutch will isolate the hydraulic motor from the engine to channel the power to the
wheel. It is vice versa in the compressed air mode. In the air assisted mode, both propulsions will move
simultaneously, which result in the enhancement of power boost. All the mode actions and
configurations are controlled by the unit controller.

FIG.3.4. Simple pneumatic circuit to demonstrate the control of air motor mode

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3.2.3 Pneumatic or hydraulic motor

A hybrid air technology operates in three modes, namely; engine mode, motor mode, and air
assisting mode. The common actuators for the propulsion device are the rotary pneumatic motor and
rotary hydraulic motor. The rotary pneumatic motor is also known as an air motor, and it is used for
the two-subsystem. The three popular types of motors available in the market are,

 Angelo De Pietro air motor – it is of light weight and high performance and can be adapted
for the design of CAHV.
 Guy Negre air engine – high pressure compressed air at 300 bar is used to drive the piston.
 Armando Regusci Campomar air engine.

The air engine propulsion is designed for the full compressed air vehicle, and it is not suitable to be
applied in the design of hybrid air because it is bulky and cumbersome. Essentially, a hybrid already
has one engine. If the air engine taken into accounts, then there are two engines in the hybrid air
system. One is the ICE, and the other one is air engine. The additional engine increases the weight
and also a problem with the engine sizing. However, if the ICE engine can be modified and
combined with the air engine into a single engine, then it is likely to be considered to be used. It is
a matter of developing a controller to determine which type of engine to be used; either ICE or air
propulsion. Suggesting is easy, but to make it happen, it is a different story. Finally, Schechter man-
aged to make it happen as illustrated Fig.3.5. The air hybrid engine proved to produce significant
improvement and saving. This design is classified as two-subsystem because it is using the
combustion engine and pneumatic system. The engine operates like another gasoline engine.
However the engine modified by adding another valve called the charging valve between the intake
valve and the injector. Typically, combustion operation starting from the intake valve, compression,
combustion and then out through the exhaust valve. However, for hybrid pneumatic, there was
additional process happen after the exhaust valve; charging valve open, compressed air in,
compression and charging valve close. The function of the charging valve is to bring in the com-
pressed air from the air tank. In operation, it is very similar to the six-stroke engine. At an earlier
stage, the charging valve opening and closing controlled by the cam but it evolved into cam-less
which is operated by using solenoid valves. The source of compressed air supplied either from the
exhaust, regenerative braking or split tank.

FIG.3.5. Hybrid compressed air engine

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In the three-subsystem hybrid air, there are two categories of hydraulic actuator/motor that might be
considered as propulsion in the hybrid engine called a fixed displacement motor and variable
displacement motor. Displacement is defined as the volume of fluid required to turn the motor per
revolution. A fixed displacement hydraulic motor provides constant torque. The speed is varied by
controlling the amount of input flow into the motor. A variable-displacement hydraulic motor provides
variable torque and speed. With input flow and pressure constant, the torque-speed ratio can be varied to
meet load requirements by varying the displacement. The gear motor is the fixed displacement type.
Mostly piston motor is variable-displacement. The change of swash plate angle will vary the
displacement. However, the cam type piston motor is fixed-displacement. Vane type operates based on
the differential area. It can work for clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation for forward and reverse
vehicle function. The three-subsystem consists of high and low pneumatic storage system, hydraulic
motor as secondary propulsion and combustion engine as main propulsion as shown in Fig.3.6. Normally,
the energy in the storage system was regenerative from the braking system. Energy in the storage system
is called pressure energy (potential energy). It flows from the high-pressure storage to the lower pressure
storage. As a result of the flow, the hydraulic motor generates power and torque to drive the wheel. When
the high pressure depletes to recharge pressure, through braking and coasting, it moves the pump to
charge the high-pressure tank.

FIG.3.6. Three subsystem configuration.

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 3.3. Prototype of CAHV

PSA Peugeot Citroen is a French leading manufacturer of automotive. The company is the second
largest car manufacturer in Europe. Lately, the company has become increasingly popular after
showcased a prototype of hybrid air technology. The prototype is using the three-subsystem concept.
On 22 January 2013, their Vice President presented a range of unique technologies, including Hybrid
Air technology, a full hybrid petrol and compressed air solution that exemplifies an essential step
towards the 2 L/100 km car. The project is developed in partnership with the French State. Also, the
company makes Bosch, a very well known in developing a hybrid electric system and Faurecia as
strategic partners in this technology. The hybrid engine is the upshot of a secret development project
involving around 100 peoples from their R&D field. Based on the company website, they claimed that
reason of developing Hybrid Air was to answer the worldwide challenges of greenhouse gas and the
pollutant reduction. Also, they want to offer to their customers’ cars equipped with a new full hybrid
technology affordable to the vast majority in terms of cost and saving in the long run. At the same time,
the company had exhibited the concept/prototype at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. In the exhibition,
the company showcased in two concepts, a Citroen C3 and a Peugeot 2008; the Hybrid Air system
power train combines air, hydraulics, and gasoline. Peugeot claims its system improves fuel economy
by 35% and is capable of 81 mpg (equivalent to 2.9 L/100 km or 34.4 km/liter) in the New European
Drive Cycle Test (NEDC).

FIG.3.7. PSA Peugeot Citroen’s hybrid air technology

An 82-HP 1.2-liter gasoline engine with three cylinders provides most of the power, driven through an
epicyclical automatic transmission. During deceleration, the wheels’ energy drives a hydraulic pump
that pushes hydraulic fluid into the accumulator and compresses the nitrogen gas inside. When the

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automobile needs to speed up, the system operates in the opposite direction; the pressurized nitrogen
gas pushes the hydraulic fluid, which drives a hydraulic motor connected to the engine. Hybrid-Air is a
term that has been used because the usual figure given to the atmospheric gasses used in breathing and
photosynthesis is air. By volume, dry unpolluted air contains 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon,
0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gasses. Technically, the real gas is dry nitrogen. It
is the same gas that applies in F1 tire. Atmosphere air contains water vapour that will cause corrosion
in the tank. The use of nitrogen gas is a smart move because the gas is the inert type. It is safer because
in-combustible and the changes in pressure in the tank due to temperature can be reduced compared to
the air.

The hybrid air vehicles can act in 3 modes of operation; ICE only, the air only and a compounding of
the two. ICE or known as the gas mode is intended to drive on the highway; the only air mode is to
drive at the speed of 43 miles per hour (equivalent to 69 km/h). In this mode, the ICE will stop moving,
and the only hydraulic motor will run. The combined mode is the movement that utilizes energy from
both the proponent of ICE and hydraulic motor. The hybrid air car produced 69 g of CO2/km compared
to the conventional engine using ICE and manual gearbox. The company declared that in city driving,
the vehicle showed the saving of 45% in fuel consumption. Hydraulic systems are an established
technology. The motors and pumps are simple, relatively affordable, and easy to package so that the
Hybrid Air could be lighter and cheaper than gasoline–electric hybrid. Unlike chemical batteries,
hydraulics has fewer recycling issues as it will affect the environment.

Nevertheless, not all coming from the hybrid air is safe. A problem that may be needed to be debated
is the operating pressure of the hydraulic system. It is too high for the passenger car function. The
operating pressure can reach up from 220 bar to 300 bar. The pressure is very high and can cause adverse
effects on the safety of a vehicle. They led a survey on the issue of the gunshots, fire and lots of unusual
places. The engineers are convinced that the system will not explode. The company estimate to put the
technology into production in 2016 and the price surely be lower than the hybrid electric car. It is
because they are using the common parts of existing hydraulic and pneumatic part. It makes the setup
robust. Other than Peugeot 208 hybrid air, with the same technology, the company also launched
Citroën Cactus C4 airflow concept which returned the same 2 L/100 km fuel consumption. To date,
PSA Peugeot still looking for a cost-sharing partner to cover the high development cost. They claimed
that the technology requires a production of about 500,000 cars a year to make economic sense because
of the additional cost of components. The company initiates to commercialize the technology in 2016,
however, if looks from the current situation; it seems hard to be fulfilled.

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3.4. Current challenges and future prospects.

3.4.1 Challenges in CAHV

 Main challenge is that storage mass determines the capability of energy. Current research
states that 50L tank provide energy for short distance only its because of the fact that energy
density of compressed air is very. Increasing the tank cannot be a good solution to this
problem because of increase in weight and thereby reducing fuel efficiency. However
regenerative breaking can help to solve this problem to some extent.
 Another challenge is that of releasing CO. The CAV turned out to be so prominent in the
control of pollution caused by the CO and NOx emissions. However, the production of
carbon dioxide (CO2) is a problem that needs to be addressed. The study showed that the
value of carbon emission produced by the CAV is considerably higher com-pared to the
electric vehicle and gasoline vehicle. For normal car size, the system produced 350 g
CO2/km. While the electric vehicle produced 150 g and gasoline-powered vehicles 140 g of
CO2/km. It is more than twice the value of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by electric and
gasoline vehicles. The high CO2/km value is a result of the compression process.
 Among the processes involved in the compressed air system are compression and expansion.
There are researchers indicated that some thermodynamics parameters need to be
manipulated to get optimum output energy. They are called isothermal and adiabatic process.
In adiabatic compression, the resulting heat is retained in zero entropy change. It results in
the compressed-air become boiling. Meanwhile, in an isothermal process, the gas is kept at
a constant temperature by using heat exchangers. In comparison, the isothermal process is a
better option because the work done is less compared to the adiabatic process. So, to get
compression curve move to near the isothermal and less adiabatic, multi-stage compression
is the best choice. It is less power required to compress the air by using the multistage
compressor. As for the expansion in the propulsion, the recommended method is multi-step
expansion.

 Reliability is one of the issues being raised up. It is about the ability of the hybrid system to
work under the stated condition for a specified period. The reliability has not only affected
the performance of the system and safety, but it will determine the cost effectiveness of the
system too. At the moment, there is no commercialized hybrid air passenger car on the road.
It is the factor that worries the customer to adapt this technology. Although the same system
already tailored to the truck, to minimize the system in a passenger car is a different story.
The end users still think that the hybrid air system itself is not suitable for a passenger car.
Most researchers agreed that the hybrid air can reduce the initial cost compared to the electric
hybrid. However, if the current existing vehicle is going to use the hybrid air system, the
initial cost of the vehicle expected to increase due to its additional components such as
accumulator and motor. As the hybrid electric having reliability issues such as battery
degradation about 5% per year, cost, safety, and availability, the hybrid air is also
unexceptionally. Among the issues expected to invite doubt are the hybrid subsystem is too
complex; fluids are used as propulsion medium, and the safety risk of the accumulator as
high pressure is used. Peugeot-Citroen tried to overcome this problem by producing the
prototype of the hybrid air passenger car. The system is working, but the technology is lack
of research data and public disclosure. The technology is developed by a small group of 100
Research and Development (R&D) staffs and time spent to produce the car is too short.
These are the factors that contribute to the anxiety. Regards to this, one of the solutions is to

19
 increase the interest among the researchers. It is hoped that there will be more research in
the years to come. The research outcome is not only representing the functionality of the
system, but it also has its own influenced and significance. It will show the level of how
reliable is the system, how matured is the technology and indirectly con-tribute to the
increase of the end user confident level.

3.4.2. Future prospects of CAHV

Compressed-air technology has existed since long ago. However, efforts to impose these
technologies to the passenger car often failed due to technical reasons. Then, the compressed air
technology is transformed into a hybrid form. Some studies claimed that it is more practical for daily
transportation application. So far, three-subsystem hybrid air has shown a commendable progress where
this technology is practical and can be marketed to consumers. However, it is still a question mark,
where is the direction of hybrid compressed-air in the future? In order to get these into certain future
prospects needs to be taken. The future prospects of two subsystem and three subsystem can be seen in
different ways.

Hybrid air technology for the two-subsystem is still too early to be commercialized. There are many
things to be researched before it can get to the market entrance. At the moment, it is still in the phase
of research and development. However, the research and feasibility study need to be done to see whether
this technology is capable of extended after it is being introduced or not. If the technology is stalled
after it was introduced, it is inappropriate to market such products. If the life phase of this technology
is too short, the possibility to reach a return on investment is very slim. The condition will bring no
profit to the manufacturer. Proper research and calculation must be conducted based on the clear
projection of the hybrid air technology future. To get a better picture of the hybrid air technology, the
authors have highlighted five phases of the road map. Fig.3.8 shows five stages can be implemented in
the technology of hybrid air. The phases may not be so suitable and accurate, but it has just provided
idea and guide-line so the researchers can get a better view of the chances and the possibility of
enhancing the technology.

The first phase is where the introduction of the system being introduced as a mild hybrid air. This
technology includes the start-stop function, regenerative braking and also air propulsion as-sisting ICE.
These three functions are the fundamental operations of hybrid air for city drive. In other words, savings
will be optimized if the hybrid air is driven in an urban area and not a highway. In the second phase,
the full hybrid air system being introduced which is combining basic functions of hybrid car with
additional ability to move by using air propulsion. In this stage, research efforts should be made to
determine the engine sizing, compressed air storage capacity, motor sizing, the effect of water flow on
the performance and distance. The third phase focuses on range extended. Optimization of the system
must be made to obtain better saving results. These include efforts in research to improve the efficiency
of each component used, utilization of waste heat in compression as well as efforts to enhance the
capacity of the storage compressed air. Through this phase, high-efficiency hybrid water and range
extended can be produced. The fourth phase is concentrating on the integration of a full hybrid with the
plug-in concept. This concept is not only suitable for city drive even very useful for a highway drive.
Greater savings can be obtained from short highway drive compared to ICE. To ensure the success of

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this phase, research efforts should focus on the production of a new plug-in system, light-weight design,
improve storage capacity, the establishment of the plug-in station, fast compression technology, return
on investment, perhaps a new design of high-efficiency compressor and air motor. The final phase is the
phase that is focused on the production of passive compression energy (self-compressed). This method
can be implemented by changing one of the ICE cylinders into the compressor. It means that the cylinder
is controlled by a controller for the purpose of determining the operation of ICE or operates as a
compressor.

FIG.3.8. Future prospects of CAHV.

The three-subsystem technology is one pace forward. There is a prototype has been developed, and
it is working. However, re-search related to these technologies is very less, and it causes doubt among
the future users of this technology. The lack certainly will affect the manufacturer effort to market the
technology. The Fig.3.8 shows that four phases of improvements can be implemented in this technology.
The first phase is a mild hybrid. This phase focuses on three core operations, which includes start- stop
function, regenerative braking and also air propulsion assisting ICE. The second phase is the upgrade
from the mild hybrid to full hybrid by the addition of the function of drive by only air propulsion source.
This phase is expected to produce a system that can drive the vehicle by using energy from the
compressed air at a reasonable distance. The third phase is focused on achieving range extended.
Efficiency for each component and systems need to be improved. At the same time, energy capacity
also needs to be upgraded so that they are in line with the needs of the users to get more savings in
highway driving. The final phase is related to the self-generation of compression energy by using
passive concepts of power generation and energy harvesting.

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 4. Conclusion

Compressed air hybrid vehicles are the best among the various segments of hybrid vehicles.
Total energy efficiency is 33% where as conventional car efficiency is around 15%.In the hybrid mode
efficiency of air engine is 36.97% and IC engine efficiency is 29.31% in single power mode AE is just
29.3% and ICE is 23.7% efficient. These have advantages in terms of cost and less maintenance and
performance. Both the two system and three system are working and has enormous potential to reach
market. Both the system requires further research and development for extended range phase.
Compressed air hybrid vehicle technology doesn’t meant to completely substitute IC engine as a whole
but is meant for better use of energy and saving environment.

The hybrid compressed air technology has a promising future in the hybrid segment of automotive.
It refers to the fact that the hybrid compressed-air technology has advantages in term of cost, less
maintenance and performance. The two-subsystem have shown that the concept is working, but it still
has to go through long way before it enters the market. Few obstacles need to be rectified and amended.
For the three-subsystem, it is working, more practical and has enormous potential to reach the market.
Nonetheless, both subsystems still require further research for extended range phase. Currently, indeed,
the research has been carried out, however the development is very slow and lack of interest among the
researchers. The rash must be blocked up, and efforts to create attention must be taken. Otherwise, the
technology will be gone as shown by the history of the air vehicle technology. Last but not lease, though
the technology of hybrid compressed-air does not mean to substitute the ICE as a whole, it is a strategy
to achieve diversification for a better use of energy saving and environment. Perhaps the technology of
hybrid com-pressed-air can provide more information and better under-standing to produce a more
practical full air car.

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 6. References

 Wasbari, F. Bakar, R.A. Gan, L.M. Tahir, M.M. and Yusof; "A review of compressed-air hybrid
technology in vehicle system"; Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews; Elsevier; vol.
67(C); pages 935-953; 2017

 Shu-Yu Yang, Cheng-Kuo Sung, Chih-Young Haung; “optimization of power management

strategy for parallel air-fuel hybrid system”;Energy procedia; vol.105;pages 530-
536;May,2017.

 Journal from sciencedirect “pneumatic vehicle, research and design”

 K.D Haung, S.C. Tzeng W.P. Ma, W.C. Chang,”Energy saving hybrid vehicle using a
pneumatic power system”; Applied Energy,82(2005),pp.117-132

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