Ho Chi Minh City introduced cars powered by ... air

Cars run by . air! This new technology vehicle was introduced at Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology on December 27. With 150-200 liters of air, the car can run 133km, speed 60km / hour.

On December 27, a car-powered compressed air technology system meeting was held in Ho Chi Minh City. The three participants are representatives of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology (Science and Technology), Transport Engineering Corporation (SAMCO) and Dr. Le Sinh - French overseas Vietnamese.

Car run by air

Dr. Le Sinh is 65 years old. He went to Japan in 1965. In 1968, he went to France to get his doctorate in Geology and settled there. On one occasion, he had access to this pneumatic technology and became acquainted with the person who invented it.

Dr.Le Sinh is on MDI's compressed air car.(Photo: Documentation)

Too passionate about new technology, and at the same time as gasoline prices are rising while the world is alarming about pollution, Dr. Le Sinh has pursued and tried to introduce this new technology to Vietnam. Male. He said the pneumatic technology used in cars was Paul Durand's invention . Paul Durand is Renault's motor racing engineer.

'Unlike conventional cars, all racing cars use compressed air to push air into the cylinder at high pressure. Gasoline is also pushed into the cylinder in this way. Paul Durand discovered that in many cases, racing cars could run out of gas. Air is pushed under strong pressure so it can be replaced by burning fuel, " said Sinh.

Since then, Paul Durand has studied a type of motor that only uses air. 10 years, invention came into being. Currently, Paul Durand is the Director of Moteur Development International - MDI, which manages this type of motor-compressed air technology license.

Currently, MDI vehicles are using the 34 series motor. This is a motor with 4 cylinders, 800 cubic centimeters, 25 horsepower with rotation of 4,000 times / minute. Weight of motor weighs 28kg.

Compressed air containers are made based on a special technology. It is the technology of making liquid oxygen or liquid gas cylinders used in spaceships. People made a carbon fiber plastic bottle. So the bottle will not explode. When the pressure is unbearable, the carbon fibers will relax, so the bottle suffers from air blow.

The motor is connected to a 5kW electric motor. This motor is used to rotate the motor when using a motor with high-pressure air compressor function. In addition, electric motors also act as threads, charging machines, electric brakes, and energy support (for example, when a car is climbing a slope).

A 4-seater MDI car, also known as CityCat , is usually from 3.84 - 3.9m wide, 1.72m wide and 1.75m high. Each car is equipped with 3 compressed air tanks, with 100liters / bottle. The motor will be responsible for pushing the rear wheels. And the front wheels are responsible for driving.

Except for glass doors, the slopes are made of aluminum alloy, hard, light, no rust. Car tires (convertible, door .) made of special double-sided composite, porous core (MDI technology patent). Vehicles also equipped with 4 wins. All controls are on the steering wheel. And 1-wire electrical system.

Diagram layout in a taxi using compressed air technology.(Photo: Dr. Le Sinh)

' The air is constantly being pushed into the cylinder, so the compressed air relaxes and absorbs heat. Therefore, the more you run, the cooler. This is not welcome, for temperate countries, but in tropical countries like Vietnam, this is a very favorable condition. We do not need to use energy to cool the air in the car , 'Dr. Le Sinh said.

Besides, unlike electric cars that do not emit noise, air-driven cars will emit sounds like " blow " due to air movement in the cylinder. This is a safety factor for pedestrians and other mobility devices.

Important is the source of motivation

Dr. Le Sinh said, MDI only sells technology rights and a car factory covers 9.5 million euros. In particular, technology copyright is 6 million euros.

Recently, in July 2007, an Indian automaker, Tata, signed a contract to purchase all motor models for existing and upcoming vehicles for € 100 million. . The company plans to produce and sell cars for $ 3,500.

Currently, in normal car factories, a complete car takes 1-2 minutes. As for compressed air technology, it takes 30 minutes. Therefore, with 10 hours a day, only about 20 cars can be produced. TS Sinh calculated, if the estimated profit is 1,000 USD / car. One year, the capacity of the factory produces about 5,000 vehicles, after 3 years, the enterprise can recover its capital.

Mr. Tran Quoc Toan - SAMCO Deputy General Director, said that it is impossible to calculate such profits. Because 5,000 vehicles can be produced a year, only 100 cars can be sold.

According to Mr. Toan, Vietnam is currently developing, the infrastructure is still poor, depending very much on the adjustment of the State. Therefore, there should be a research topic on the feasibility of this compressed air technology. Thereby find out the output of the market and provide information for businesses.

Dr. Le Sinh said that this technology not only applies to cars but also can be applied in many other areas such as water pumps, motorbike production . Therefore, the output is not just cars. .

Also PGS, Dr. Le Hoai Quoc, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, said that it is not natural for Europe to offer high environmental standards, controlling exhaust emissions from very strict vehicles. Compressed air technology is a new source of motivation that the application prospect is very high. Therefore, he promised if TS. What Le Sinh needs, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology is ready to assist in his ability.

In the immediate future, Mr. Le Hoai Quoc suggested that a seminar could be organized. In particular, the participants will be managers, scientists, universities, institutes . to learn more about this technology.

Another representative of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City said, now in France has allowed this type of vehicle to be circulated, it is recommended to TS. Le Sinh seeks to help car standards to be circulated in the Vietnamese market. He said that in the past, gas vehicles originally circulated on the market faced many difficulties in terms of standards. Currently, Vietnam's management mechanism is not open, so there are no regulations for such new technology vehicles.

Therefore, the time for cars to apply compressed air technology produced and circulated in Vietnam must be calculated by year, but not faster.