Compressed Air Engine: A Bridge for Sustainable Development

Researchers all over the world have been striving hard to find a sustainable solution to the future energy requirements. In this context, an engine using compressed air might very well prove to be an effective solution. In the present study, a 4 stroke engine was modified to run on compressed air and a specially designed “articulated connecting rod” has been used, which has the provision of dwelling at the top dead center. This would make the injection of compressed air a constant volume process inside the cylinder contrary to conventional engines. In the proposed design, compressed air was supplied through a distribution system in time sequence into separate cylinders of the engine by solenoid-actuated valves located in spark plug holes. A valve actuator, which modified the time interval over which compressed air was admitted into the cylinder, in accordance with engine speed, was also incorporated. The proposed engine was theoretically compared with an ideal Otto cycle in terms of its efficiency and power generated. The results were found to be acceptable to put the proposed engine into actual practice with ample scope left for future work.