Test of a New Low-Speed Compressed Air Engine for Energy Recovery

Mariusz Rząsa, Ewelina Łukasiewicz and Dariusz Wójtowicz
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Mariusz Rząsa: Department of Computer Science, Automatic Control and Informatics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, 45-758 Opole, Poland
Ewelina Łukasiewicz: Department of Thermal Engineering and Industrial Facilities, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, Prószkowska 76 Street, 45-758 Opole, Poland
Dariusz Wójtowicz: Department of Thermal Engineering and Industrial Facilities, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, Prószkowska 76 Street, 45-758 Opole, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: The paper presents a new design solution for the multi-cylinder compressed air engine, described in the PL 216801 patent. A characteristic feature of the engine is its double-piston operation with pistons working in pairs in opposition and a reciprocating movement in toroidal cylinders. The energy of compressed air was used more effectively in the described engine than in the solutions known so far. Comparing the engine built in accordance with the PL 216801 patent with the parameters of the MP165 and MP3000 engines, lower air consumption in relation to the power generated on the shaft is demonstrated. The described engine uses only one crankshaft and one straight complex shaft, which constitutes an innovative combination of pistons, while maintaining the same engine operation as in the case of two crankshafts operating with phase shift and working chamber shift. Such a solution results in a reduction in the harmful space occurring at the beginning of the power stroke to the value close to “zero”—the necessity to maintain the minimum distance between the pistons working in one cylinder when they are at their closest exists only to for the sake of collision-free operation—which is very desirable for the compressed engine operating with a shift of the working chamber. The mechanical efficiency of the engine has also been improved by guiding the pistons on the complex shaft, and the number of kinematic nodes was decreased by applying only three connecting rods supporting six pistons, which also makes it possible to improve the power and mass relation by approximately 25% in comparison with the currently known engines of similar power.

Keywords: pneumatic motor; compressed air engine; energy recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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