Note on "Anonymous" Comments

I find it interesting that when given the option, most people choose to leave "anonymous" comments on a blog.

What about the words CREDIBILITY and INTEGRITY?

I do understand that people will have differing viewpoints on subjects such as "a new technology"; this is a good thing! Yes yes yes!

HOWEVER, please use some common courtesy when posting opinions and supporting details!

Please identify yourselves when leaving a comment!

Thanks; the author.

p.s. Merry Xmas  and  HAPPY  NEW  YEAR - 2009!

Arctic FlowAir - Purpose by Design

I live in an area of the world where winter temperatures hover around the -40 degree mark and at this point, Fahrenheit or Celsius makes absolutely no difference - it's all the same.

If you believe that your vehicle is well built and well designed, this is the place to test it because if it's not rugged enough, the Arctic environment will be more than happy to point out any engineering flaws or design weaknesses you may have overlooked along the way.

In the Arctic, we need a power source that uses an exothermic reaction to power an engine. Heat is required at these temperatures because the engine and passenger cabin must be artificially heated in this climate.

Vehicles operating in extreme cold currently use the internal combustion engine as a power source, primarily because of how much heat they generate and release. Even though these engines are extremely inefficient, excess heat is easily shunted away from the engine cooling systems for use in heating the interior of the cabin for the passengers.

What other alternatives power sources are available to power a vehicle at these temperatures? This is the one area of the world that battery powered vehicles will have a difficult time to operate in, especially considering current battery temperature requirements. Most batteries loose their ability to hold or convey charge at extreme temperatures. But then, what does that leave us with? Hydrogen fuel cells are a possibility, but once again we are faced with using hydrocarbons as a primary source for hydrogen, unfortunately.

This leaves either the internal combustion engine or the FlowAir dual-energy engine as viable vehicle power sources, especially in colder climates.

I can hear people already arguing that you need a BIG MOTOR to produce enough heat to operate effectively. This is bull. I used to own a Toyota Previa minivan that had a 4 cylinder 2L engine and it heated twice as good as the P.O.S. domestic thing I own now, and it has a 6 cylinder 4.2L engine. My Previa (North American model) had absolutely no problem providing a comfortable internal cabin temperature on a -40 degree day. 

It's not about engine size or output, it's all about insulation and correctly designing the cabin airflow to act as a shell, insulating the passengers from the elements with moving airflow on the outer edge of the vehicle. Toyota understood that with their design. The Previa even feature air ducts that were built into the outer wall and side doors for channeling the air completely around the front seats. This created a temperature buffer that evenly regulated the whole vehicle interior. In essence, it was an ARCTIC DESIGNED HEATING SYSTEM:

I remember driving home at 120km/h in -40 weather, sitting comfortably in a long sleeve shirt with my jacket draped over my seat. I have never been able to do that in any vehicle since, no matter what the engine size. It's all about design.

So then, let's look closely at the FlowAir dual-engine design. It has an external heat source that should be adequate in providing enough heat for the engine and the passenger cabin. If we consider that the MiniFlowAir is a fiberglass and foam  composite body, it's insulation value compared to a solid steel vehicle body would be far superior at retaining heat in the passenger cabin. All that the unit would require for an "Arctic" upgrade would possibly be redesigning the internal airflow to shield the occupants from the vehicle shell. Everything else should be adequate for the task of operating at extreme low temperatures.

One final note: In an era when Peak Oil is an immediate reality and fossil fuels are on the decline, the FlowAir dual-energy engine has one main advantage and that is the ability to use multiple variations of liquid fuel. Even though it might be easier to use petroleum based fuel for the immediate future, it will be much simpler switching over to other fuels with FlowAir dual-energy vehicles.

Oh yeah... don't forget the "air" part of it either... :)

MDI Dual-Energy - 4 Modes of Operation?

Just hold on a minute there... the MDI dual-energy engines have HOW many modes of operation exactly?

What do you mean, FOUR... ?

Quote:

Four operating modes: 
             

• Mode 1, mono energy compressed air: below 50km/h, only the compressed air in the tank is used.
• Mode 2, simple dual energy: range extension by using the compressed air in the tank which is heated using an energetic adjuvant for the external combustion chamber before it is introduced in the engine.
• Mode 3, autonomous dual energy: beyond 50 km/h the stored compressed air in the tanks is not used anymore.  •A combined air compressor produces compressed air at working pressure which is then heated in the external combustion chamber before being transferred in the active chamber and expanded in the work cylinder. 

This operating mode is also used below 50 km/h when the tank is empty.

• Mode 4, Dual energy with recompression of the tanks: an energy sharing occur using part of the produced compressed air (by the combined compressor) to run the vehicle (as in mode 3) and rest is directed towards a booster to refill the tanks.

*view source: http://www.mdi.lu/english/moteurs.php

So, when MDI says DUAL-energy modes, they don't mean "dual" as-in "two"...

The more I learn about this, the more impressed I become with the whole concept... it's simply AMAZING!

The thing I'm not too certain about is why I never noticed this explanation on the website before? Was it even there the last time I checked? 

I'm really not sure... How puzzling.

The EXTERNAL Combustion Engine!

I first noticed this blog write-up about a week ago:

Sudden Disruption: Amazing New Air Car - It's NOT About the Air!

http://suddendisruption.blogspot.com/2008/01/amazing-new-air-car-moving-at-heat-of.html

At first I didn't really pay attention to what the author was saying, but when www.thefuture.net.nz further explained  the MDI Compressed Air Engine as an engine with a THERMODYNAMIC CYCLE, it actually began to make sense...

*refer: http://www.thefuture.net.nz/mdi_tech.htm#sudden

In essense, what Guy Nègre has managed to develope is the...

"EXTERNAL" COMBUSTION ENGINE!

Basically, the fuel or heating source is completely external to the engine and acts as a pressure multiplier for the compressed air powering the motor itself. This means that the combustion process or heating process is continuous at lower temperatures and therefore an extremely efficient burn; almost all of the heat energy produced by the pre-burner will be used to expand the compressed gasses creating an increased power output per unit volume of compressed air. 

In the internal combustion engine, a pulsed fuel explosion creates extreme heat and exhaust vapor in each burn cycle. This "waste" heat and exhaust vapor is then completely purged from the system via the exhaust and cooling systems. This is why the efficiency of the standard internal combusion engine is so low! All of the heat energy is considered waste, but in the EXTERNAL combustion engine, heat is a fuel multiplier,  therefore a SOURCE of energy!

AHA! EUREKA!

So, in essence, the system is similar to a regular engine, but one which heat is used as an input and not simply viewed as a by-product of the whole process... WOW!

*I realize that my explanation is an extreme oversimplification of the MDI engine theory, but that's how I wrapped my head around the whole heater/fuel concept.

Imagine an engine that's not an internal combustion engine, nor a complete external combustion engine like the steam engine, but a HYBRID compressed air AND external combustion engine... ASTONISHING!

*FlowAir = dual-energy engine!

Now, I can already hear people using the argument that we still need to fill the compressed air tank, and this takes energy.

True! But...

We could use our existing infrastructure for compressing air without taxing our electrical grid what-so-ever...  by charging the compressed air tanks at night!

Typical power grid demand (sample):

Notice how demand drops during each night and peaks midday. The thing to remember is that power generation does not stop; current power generating systems keep the grid availability above demand levels at all time, otherwise the grid browns out or fails outright. All of the available power being generated at night is simply wasted...

Apparently our current power generation is enough to charge a whole generation of electric powered vehicle during each night cycle, or perhaps built-in compressor units for each MDI powered vehicle. (imagine that!)

At any rate, it appears the whole concept of the MDI External Combustion Engine is a valid mechanism for replacing the current model.

I really hope to see these vehicles out in the market ASAP.

It's time for a change from the old status-quo... and remember...

"the future is air" - Guy Nègre

OIL and GAS - The Next Meltdown

(Matt Simmons, head of the oil investment bank Simmons and Company International)

Why air car tech? 

Watch this presentation:

OMG!  

Here's a write-up about what Matt Simmons is trying to tell us:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/matt-simmons-peak-oil.php

Wave Motors

Here is Eric DuPont's Quebec connection to MOTOR'AIR

Wave Motors (World Air Vehicle Ecologic)
http://www.ecowavemotors.com/

You'll find some more information on the next web page, including a PowerPoint link to a quick presentation:

http://ecowavemotors.com/des.htm

*note - the ppt file is completely in French :)

It is interesting to note that the engine proposed in this unit uses compressed NITROGEN gas and HOT WATER:

Source: http://www.motorair.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=1

English translation via Google: http://translate.google.ca/translate?u=http://www.motorair.net/index.php&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=fr&tl=en

*note: hit [more] at the bottom of the page for the full explanation

The concept makes sense, but we will have to see if it can be up and running by the time the Automotive Xprize is ready to start...

Once again, GOOD LUCK gentlemen!

MOTOR'AIR

This is another aircar concept by Eric DuPont:

http://www.motorair.net

Apparently they are thinking of entering their concept into the Auto Xprize... (click on quoted text below to view original link)

Écrit par DUPONT

16-01-2008

Novembre 2008

Le prototype du moteur est en cours de réalisation. La voiture à été inscrite à la x-prize ,une course autommobile aux états-unis dotée de 10 millions de dollars pour le véhicule le plus écologique.

C'est la société  ECOWAVEMOTORS qui produira dans la banlieue de Montréal, une voitures en fibre de carbone appelé "ours blanc" toutes les 2 minutes. Le premier marché sera donc les états unis, suivi très rapidement, je l'espère par l'Europe. 

Gentlemen... START  YOUR  ENGINES!!!  And good luck to all competitors!

VERDIVAP AIRSTEAM GENERATOR

MDI has developed an agricultural application for the MDI engine. 

The whole unit produces steam via compressed air and effectively acts as a farming soil disinfection system... 

More information is available at:

http://www.verdivap.com/

Xprize - MDI / ZPM

The Xprize foundation has been a great source of innovation for the development of very specific cutting-edge technologies. 

Shall we focus on 100mpg or energy equivalency?

Presenting the MDI / ZPM  entry:

http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/teams/mdi-zpm

...Excellent description of the 4 cycle, 5 stroke engines being developed by MDI, for use in the FlowAir class of vehicle.

ALSO:

For more information on the MDI Compressed Air Engine with Thermodynamic Cycle, please visit: http://www.thefuture.net.nz/mdi_tech.htm

*This is a most informative website on how the whole compressed air concept works in a dual mode engine.

   

Shiva Vencat - CEO

Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) USA

http://zeropollutionmotors.us/

Interview with Shiva Vencat:

*spread the word... "the future is air"