DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF AIR COMPRESSED

ENGINE

A DESIGN AND FABRICATION PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

AJAYVISAKAN P R (611220114301)
BALA KUMARAN V (611220114303)
DEEPAK RAJ K (611220114307)
DEEPAN S (611220114308)

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

IN

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SALEM

ANNA UNIVERSITY: CHENNAI 600 025

MAY 2023
DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF AIR COMPRESSED
ENGINE

A DESIGN AND FABRICATION PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

AJAYVISAKAN P R (611220114301)
BALA KUMARAN V (611220114303)
DEEPAK RAJ K (611220114307)
DEEPAN S (611220114308)

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

IN

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SALEM

ANNA UNIVERSITY: CHENNAI 600 025

 MAY 2023

ANNA UNIVERSITY : CHENNAI 600 025

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this Design & Fabrication project report “AIR COMPRESSED
ENGINE”is the bonafide work of “AJAYVISAKAN P R, BALA KUMARAN V,
DEEPAK RAJ K, DEEPAN S” who carried out the Design & Fabrication project work
under my supervision.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

Dr. K.VISAGAVEL., M.E., Ph.D., Prof. N. PANNEERSELVAM.,ME.,Ph.D.,

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR

Professor Assistant Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering

Knowledge Institute of Technology Knowledge Institute of Technology

Salem – 637 504 Salem – 637 504

Submitted for the Anna University Design and Fabrication Project Viva-Voce held on

……………………………
Internal Examiner External Examiner
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Thiru.C.BALAKRISHNAN, President,

KIOT Trust, Thiru.R,KUMARASAMI, Secretary, KIOT Trust,
Thiru.V.SURESHKUMAR, Treasurer, KIOT Trust and all the members of Knowledge
Institute of Technology Trust at this time for providing me with plethora of facilities to
complete the Design and Fabrication project work successfully.

I take privilege to express my profound thanks to my beloved Founder and Principal

Dr.PSS.SRINIVASAN.,M.Tech.(IIT-B),Ph.D.,who has been a bastion of moral strength
and a source of incessant encouragement towards the completion of this Design &
Fabrication project.

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to

Dr.K.VISAGAVEL.,M.E.,Ph.D.,Vice Principal & Head of the Department, Mechanical
Engineering for his guidance and encouragement.

I take my immense pleasure to express my thanks to

Prof.M.SATHYANATHAN.,M.E., (Ph.D),MISTE.,MIWS., Dept. Incharge for his
valuable suggestions.

I express my special thanks to Prof.R.VENKATRAMAN.,M.E.,MISTE., Class

Advisor for his motivation & coordination throughout the completion of the Design and
Fabrication Project Work.

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Design & Fabrication Project

Supervisor Prof.N.PANNEERSELVAM.,M.E.,Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, for his excellent guidance and constant support providing
throughout the course of Design & Fabrication Project Work.

I also thank the entire teaching faculty, supporting staff of Mechanical Engineering
Department and all my fellow students who stood with me to complete the Design and
Fabrication Project Work successfully.
 ABSTRACT

A compressed air engine is a type of engine that uses compressed air to produce power.
There are several different types of compressed air engines, including piston engines,
rotary engines, and turbines. In this, we are using rotary engine. Instead of using fuels,
these engines rely on compressed air to drive a piston and generate power. The basic
principle behind a compressed air engine is simple. The potential energy is converted into
mechanical energy. Air is compressed into a storage tank, and when released, it expands
rapidly, creating pressure that can be harnessed to produce motion. This motion can then
be used to drive machinery, power vehicles, or perform other useful work. Compressed air
engines are often considered to be environmentally friendly, as they produce no harmful
emissions (zero emission) and rely on a renewable resource (air).
Key words: Renewable resource, Air compressor, Pneumatic air vehicle.
INTRODUCTION
BASICS INTRODUCTION ABOUT AIR COMPRESSED ENGINE

The present situation of depletion in fossil fuel and high rise in price of gasoline
has forced researchers to find other sources of energy to replace fossil fuel. Some
presented the idea of electric motor, hybrid engine and newly developed Compressed
Air Engine (CAE). A Compressed Air Engine is a type of engine which uses
compressed air technology to generate useful work output. The idea is to store
compressed air inside a tank. The compressed air inside the tank has large amount of
energy, and this energy can be used to move the piston of an engine. The back and forth
movement of piston inside the engine cylinder results in generation of useful work
energy.

Compressing a gas into a small space is a way to store energy. When the gas
expands again, that energy is released to do work. That's the basic principle behind what
makes an air car go.Some types rely on pistons and cylinders, others use turbines. Many
compressed air engines improve their performance by heating the incoming air, or the
engine itself.

One manufacturer claims to have designed an engine that is 90 percent efficient.

Compressed air propulsion may also be incorporated in hybrid systems, e.g., battery
electric propulsion and fuel tanks to recharge the batteries. This kind of system is called
hybrid-pneumatic electric propulsion. Additionally, regenerative braking can also be
used in conjunction with this system.
HISTORY

a) The first compressed-air vehicle was devised by Bompas, a patent for a locomotive
being taken out in England in 1828. There were two storage tanks between the
frames, with conventional cylinders and cranks. It is not clear if it was actuallybuilt.
(Knight, 1880) b) The first recorded compressed-air vehicle in France was built by
the Frenchmen Andraud and Tessie of Motay in 1838. A car ran on a test track at
Chaillot on the 9th July 1840, and worked well, but the idea was not pursued
further.

b) The first recorded compressed-air vehicle in France was built by the Frenchmen
Andraud and Tessie of Motay in 1838. A car ran on a test track at Chaillot on the
9th July 1840, and worked well, but the idea was not pursued further.

c) In 1848 Barin von Rathlen constructed a vehicle which was reported to have
beendriven from Putney to Wandsworth (London) at an average speed of 10 to 12
mph.

d) At the end of 1855, a constructor called Julienne ran some sort of vehicle at Saint-
Denis in France, driven by air at 25 atmospheres (350 psi), for it to be used in coal
mines 4.

e) Compressed air locomotives were use for haulage in 1874 while the Simplon tunnel
was being dug. An advantage was that the cold exhaust air aided the ventilation of
the tunnel.
f) Louis Mékarski built a standard gauge self-contained tramcar which was tested in
February 1876 on the Courbevoie-Etoile Line of the Paris Tramways Nord (TN),
where it much impressed the current president and minister of transport Maréchal
de MacMahon. The tramcar was also shown at the exhibition of 1878 as it seemed
to be an ideal transport method, quiet, smooth, without smoke, fire or the possibility
of boiler explosion.

g) The compressed-air locos were soon withdrawn due to a number of accidents,

possibly caused by icing in the pipes of the brakes, which were also worked by
compressed air. h) In Louis Mékarski built a standard gauge self-contained tramcar
which was tested in February 1876 on the Courbevoie-Etoile Line of the Paris
Tramways Nord (TN), where it much impressed the current president and minister of
transport Maréchal de MacMahon. The tramcar was also shown at the exhibition of
1878 as it seemed to be an ideal transport method, quiet, smooth, without smoke, fire
or the possibility of boiler explosion.
APPLICATIONS

The compressed air engine can be used in many vehicles. Some of its applications to be
used as engine for vehicles are:

a) Mopeds Jem Stansfield, an English inventor has been able to convert a regular scooter
to a compressed air moped. This has been done by equipping the scooter with a
compressed air engine and air tank.
b) Buses
MDI makes MultiCATs vehicle that can be used as buses or trucks. RATP has also
already expressed an interest in the compressed-air pollution-free bus
c) Locomotives
Compressed air locomotives have been historically used as mining locomotives and in
various areas
d) Trams
Various compressed-air-powered trams were trialed, starting in 1876 and has been
successfully implemented in some cases.
e) Watercraft and aircraft
Currently, no water or air vehicles exist that make use of the air engine. Historically
compressed air engines propelled certain torpedoes.
ADVANTAGES

The advantages are well publicised since the developers need to make their
machines attractive to investors. Compressed-air vehicles are comparable in
many ways to electric vehicles, but use compressed air to store the energy
instead of batteries. Their potential advantages over other vehicles include:

a) Much like electrical vehicles, air powered vehicles would ultimately

be powered through the electrical grid, which makes it easier to
focus on reducing pollution from one source, as opposed to the
millions of vehicles on the road.

b) Transportation of the fuel would not be required due to drawing

power off the electrical grid. This presents significant cost
benefits.
Pollution created during fuel transportation would be eliminated
c) Compressed air technology reduces the cost of vehicle production by
about 20%, because there is no need to build a cooling system, fuel
tank, Ignition Systems or silencers.
d) Air, on its own, is non-flammable.
e) High torque for minimum volume
f) The mechanical design of the engine is simple and robust.
g) Low manufacture and maintenance costs as well as easy maintenance.
h) Compressed-air tanks can be disposed of or recycled with less
pollution than batteries.
i) Compressed-air vehicles are unconstrained by the degradation
problems associated with current battery systems.
 j) The tank may be able to be refilled more often and in less time than
batteries can be recharged, with re-fuelling rates comparable to
liquid fuels.
k) Lighter vehicles would mean less abuse on roads. Resulting in longer
lasting roads.
l) The price of fuelling air-powered vehicles will be significantly
cheaper than current fuels.

DISADVANTAGES:

Like the modern car and most household appliances, the principal disadvantage is
the indirect use of energy. Energy is used to compress air, which - in turn -
provides the energy to run the motor. Any conversion of energy between forms
results in loss. For conventional combustion motor cars, the energy is lost when oil
is converted to usable fuel - including drilling, refinement, labour, storage,
eventually transportation to the end-user. For compressed-air cars, energy is lost
when electrical energy is converted to compressed air.

m) When air expands, as it would in the engine, it cools dramatically (Charles

law) and must be heated to ambient temperature using a heat exchanger
similar to the Intercooler used for internal combustion engines. The
heating is necessary in order to obtain a significant fraction of the
theoretical energy output. The heat exchanger can be problematic. While it
performs a similar task to the Intercooler, the temperature difference
between the incoming air and the working gas is smaller. In heating the
stored air, the device gets very cold and may ice up in cool, moist climates.
n) Refuelling the compressed air container using a home or low-end
conventional air compressor may take as long as 4 hours though the
specialized equipment at service stations may fill the tanks in only 3
minutes
o) Tanks get very hot when filled rapidly. SCUBA tanks are sometimes
immersed in water to cool them down when they are being filled. That
would not be possible with tanks in a car and thus it would either take a
long time to fill the tanks, or they would have to take less than a full charge,
since heat drives up the pressure
p) Early tests have demonstrated the limited storage capacity of the tanks; the
only published test of a vehicle running on compressed air alone was
limited to a range of 7.22 km.
q) A 2005 study demonstrated that cars running on lithium-ion batteries

outperform both compressed air and fuel cell vehicles more than three-
fold at same speeds. MDI has recently claimed that an air car will be able
travel 140km in urban driving, and have a range of 80 km with a top speed
of 110.
 iv

WORKING METHODOLOGY

• Choose a compressor that can produce the required air pressure and flow rate.
• Select a storage tank that can hold the compressed air at the required pressure.
• Install an air motor that can convert the compressed air into mechanical energy.
• Connect the compressor, storage tank, and air motor using appropriate piping and
valve.
• Test the system to ensure it can produce the required power output and operates
safely.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Vishwajeet Singh[1] The review of literature gives a brief introduction to the

evolution of CAE; it presents the problem of leakage and inefficiency that are faced
while designing the components of CAE and how they can be overcome. Further it also
covers the advantages of using CAE in reducing the energy crises and lowering the
global warming. However, the concept of running the car using CAE still need some
focus in developing infrastructure to power the car . This paper presents the concept of
my CAE design, presents the concept of modifying a conventional 4-stroke internal
combustion engine into a 2-stroke engine to run using compressed air technology,
presents the basis for my CAE testing, and discussesits advantages and give an overview
on CAE future development.
Prof. B. S. Patel et al[2] Who tried to develop such a compressed air engine
by modifying an 4-stroke, single cylinder SI engine by replacing the spark plug with the
help of pulsed pressure valve, and using compressed air as the working fluid which id
pollution free or tend to zero pollution. The working of this engine is very well
explained theoretically and the cost analysis is made which shows that the compressed
air engine is cheaper than Spark ignition engine i.e. SI engine on the frame of reference
of conventional SI engine.
Dr. Bharat Raj Singh & Dr. Onkar Singh[3] conducted together in which
they both used a wanned type novel air turbine as a prime mover for a motor bike. In
this experiment they tried to gain an output of 6.50 Horsepower i.e.4.84705 Kilowatt to
7.20 Horsepower i.e.5.36904 Kilowatt for the starting torque requirements of 500 to 750
rpm at 4 to 6 bars air pressure to running speeds of 2000 to 3000 rpm using 2 to 3 bars
air pressure. The test was conducted in HBTI 10 Kanpur After conducting this research
they have concluded that overallperformance of air turbine for working Pressure ranging
from 2.7-6 bar is found varying from 72%-97%. This technology can be used in the area
under the future automotive industry.
 SwadhinPatnaik[4]This paper work deals with the Compressed-air engine as a
pneumatic actuator that converts one form of energy into another. The Air Driven
Engine is an eco-friendly engine which operates with compressed air. This Engine uses
the expansion of compressed air to drive the pistons of the engine. An Air Driven
Engine is a pneumatic actuator that creates useful work by expanding compressed air.
There is no mixing of fuel with air as there is no combustion. An Air Driven Engine
makes use of Compressed Air Technology for its operation The Compressed Air
Technology is quite simple. If we compress normal air into a cylinder the air would hold
some energy within it. This energy can be utilized for useful purposes. When this
compressed air expands, the energy is released to do work. So this energy in compressed
air can also be utilized to displace a piston. Compressed air propulsion may also be
incorporated in hybrid systems, e.g., battery electric propulsion and fuel tanks to
recharge the batteries. This kind of system is called hybrid-pneumatic electric
propulsion. Additionally, regenerative braking can also be used in conjunction with this
system.
Pramod Kumar .J [5] The principle behind the working of the Air powered
Engine is the ability of air to store energy on compression and then release the same on
expansion. On compression, the work done by the pump gets stored as pressure energy.
This compressed air is then stored in cylinders/tanks for later use. When this air is
allowed to expand, the pressure energy of air gets converted to kinetic energy and
causes propulsion. The same principle is used for engines. A throttling mechanism is
attached to the cylinder opening valve from the 11 throttle. When the required rotation
is provided to the throttle, the valve opens to a particular degree controlling the amount
of air delivered out. This air is delivered to the engine. When the compressed air enters
the engine through the inlet valve it strikes the piston, which moves (reciprocate)
causing first half rotation of the crank shaft, this striked air gets expanded which then
moves to the out through the outlet during the 2nd half rotation of the crank shaft . The
air is stored either in cylinder or compressor. The sole purpose of storing air at such
high pressure is to ensure that there is enough volume of air present in the vehicle to
allow it to run for a long period of time before having to refill the cylinder. The working
of the engine is as shown in the Prof. R.V.
Chaudhary[6] We were able to successfully complete the design and modification
of the Petrol Vehicle in to the Compressed air vehicle. The Air Vehicle provides an
effective use and applied to the transportation light vehicles. It’s speed, range and the
power are limited now, so further research could provide more effective results. This
project can be directly utilized in the market to modify IC Engine bikes in to the Air
bikes in effective cost. Since a number of operations can be performed in a single and
simple unit. It is efficient and economical. We can say that the cost of the modification
is very less and the effective results can be achieved. As we know that in IC engines
higher pressures and temperatures are maintained as compared to air driven engine so
that in IC engines heavy metal alloys are used but for air driven engine light alloys can
be used. The weight of the engine can be reduced by using aluminium and more light
metals. Also the new modified engine and chassis, cast from light alloys can be lighter
which will design for the air engine. The use of heater and reuse of exhaust air improves
the efficiency of the vehicle. This project is a successful one because we have stared the
4 Stroke petrol vehicle is running only on compressed air.
 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

i. A continuous air leak from the small vent hole.

ii. Operate the compressors at as low a pressure as possible. Do recall, however, that
operating below the rated pressure of air treatment may de-rate the air treatment.
Excess pressure requires additional compressor power as well as intensifying
leaks and causing legitimate users to use excess air.
iii. One of the most common problems experienced in a compressed air system is low
pressure or perceived low pressure. Symptoms can include machinery faults,
inability of air cylinders to apply necessary force, or inadequate torque on an air
tool.
LINE DIAGRAM OF THE MODEL
PARTS OF THE COMPONENS
 FRAME
 INLET NON RETURN VALUE
 8 MM PU TUBES
 OUTLET MOUTH
 PNEUMATIC ROTARY PISTON
 PRESSURE GAUGE
 M - M ¼ - ½ REDUCER
 M – M ¼ - ¼ FITTING
 M – F ¼- ¼ FITTING
 F- F ¼ - ¼ FITTING
 CONCLUSION

The model designed by us is a small scale working model of the compressed air
engine. When scaled to higher level it can be used for driving automobiles
independently or combined (hybrid) with other engines like I.C. engines.

Main advantages of Air Compressed Engine (A.C.E.) are:

1. Zero emission
2. Use of renewable fuel.
3. Zero fuel cost (the cost is involved only in the compression of air)

A designing an engine which can run on compressed air technology. Here the
theoretical concept was also experimentally proved by modifying a 4-stroke engine
into a 2-stroke engine and running the engine by proposed compressed air. Further the
experimental result was presented which showed the advantages of using CAE. Thus,
A CAE give a possibility to use the unlimited resource of air as a fuel to run the
engine. The proposed concept design of CAE helps in solving the problem using a
fuel which is renewable and at the same time cheaper in use. The paper also present an
overview on the proposed future development of engine for making it more efficient
for public use.
 REFERENCE

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[2] Edelstein, S. (2015, February 13). Tata airpod compressed-air car to launch in
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[3] Hanlon, M. (2004). Significant new rotary engine design runs on compressed air.
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[5] Lampton, C. (n.d.). How the air car works. Fuel-Efficient Vehicle. Retrieved from
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[6] Lee, S. J., Shim, J., and Kim, K. C. (2015). Development of capacity modulation
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[7] LeGault, M. (2012).Next generation pressure vessels. CompositesWorld, 1-5.

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[8] Manish, M., Rathod, P. P., and Arvind, S. (2012). Study and development of
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[9] Mishra, K. R., and Sugandh, G. (2014). Study about engine operated by
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[10] Noh, et. al. (2016).Compressor efficiency with cylinder slenderness ratio of
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