IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)

ISSN(e) : 2278-1684, ISSN(p) : 2320–334X, PP : 50-54

www.iosrjournals.org
Vehicle Operating on Compressed Air by Inversion of Slider
Crank Mechanism
A.A.Keste, S. B. Vise,A. N. Adik, P. R. Borase
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, M.E.S. College of Engineering, Pune-01, India)

ABSTRACT : This paper describes the working of a vehicle which works on pneumatic power. A pneumatic
vehicle uses compressed air as a source of energy for locomotion. In this system a double acting pneumatic
cylinder is operated as a slider crank mechanism which converts the linear reciprocation of the cylinder piston
rod into oscillatory motion of the driver crank about the pinion shaft. The battery operated vehicles used in all
manufacturing industries has disadvantages like high weight, takes more time to charge the battery, critical
connection of switches and relays and more maintenance. These stated problems in this paper are overcome by
a pneumatically operated vehicle which has low weight, easy circuits, takes less time for refueling and requires
less maintenance.

Keywords -Compressed Air Energy, Directional Control Valve, Pneumatic Power, Inversion of Slider Crank
Mechanism, Eco-friendly.

I. INTRODUCTION

In a pneumatic system, the working fluid is a gas (mostly air) which is compressed above atmospheric pressure
to impart pressure energy to the molecules. This stored pressure potential is converted to a suitable mechanical
work in an appropriate controlled sequence using control valves and actuators. Conversion of various
combinations of motions like rotary-rotary, linear-rotary and linear-linear is possible. The simplicity in design,
durability and compact size of pneumatic systems make them well suited for mobile applications. Pneumatic
control system plays very important role in industrial system owing to the advantages of low cost, easy
maintenance, cleanliness, readily available, and cheap source, etc. [1]. A particularly well suited application for
vehicle operating on compressed air is material handling and for visitors in industry. Compressed air storage
energy (CASE) is a promising method of energy storage, with high efficiency and environmental friendliness
[2]. Compressed air is regarded as fourth utility, after electricity, natural gas, water and the facilitating
production activities in industrial environment [3]. Unfortunately production of compressed air solely for
pneumatic vehicle is not affordable but in manufacturing industries compressed air is widely used for many
applications such as cooling, drying, actuating and removing metal chips. In addition, as a form of energy,
compressed air represents no fire or explosion hazards; as the most natural substances, it is clean and safe and
regarded as totally green [4]. The performance of air car is explain in [8] in which the importance of the impact
of the fossil fuels in the present and future generations is explained which led them to design a new vehicle
which runs by renewable energy sources. Compressed air vehicle are more suitable for low speed, short
range and flammable environment [9, 10].An inventor, JemStansfield, has been able to convert a regular scooter
to a compressed air moped [10]. The moped has top speed of about 18 mph and could go 7 miles before its air
pressure ran out [10]. During literature survey it is observed that compressed air vehicles has many potential
advantages over electric vehicles which includes no degradation problems of batteries, time required for
refueling the tank, easy disposal of compressed air tank without causing any pollution as with the batteries
[10].Hence in order to overcome the above stated problems there is a need of eco-friendly vehicles using
compressed air as a working medium in future. In this work a sincere effort is made to develop Vehicle
operating on compressed air by inversion of slider crank mechanism.

II. INVERSION OF SLIDER CRANK MECHANISM

The slider crank mechanism as shown in Fig.1 has a four links connected by three revolute joints and one
prismatic joint of lower pair or surface contact. In this inversion the cylinder is fixed and piston inside
reciprocates and this reciprocating motion is converted in to the rotary motion of crank[5].

Second National Conference on Recent Developments in Mechanical Engineering 50 | Page

M.E.Society's College of Engineering, Pune
 Vehicle Operating On Compressed Air by Inversion Of Slider Crank Mechanism

Fig.1 Inversion of slider crank mechanism[5]

In this system a double acting pneumatic cylinder operated as a slider crank mechanism that converts the
linear reciprocation of the cylinder piston rod into oscillatory motion of the driver crank about the pinion shaft.
The pinion shaft further drives the pinion, which will turn the gear wheel on the output shaft. The output shaft
carries the system that converts the oscillatory motion of the gear into the single direction rotation of the chain
vehicle by means of a unidirectional clutch arrangement. The pneumatic linear actuator as shown in Fig.2
supplies compressed air by means of an appropriate filter-regulator-lubricator (FRL) unit and a 5/2 foot operated
pneumatic direction control valve. This system is capable of being driven to given intermittent as well as
continuous motion to the chain vehicle system. The system uses pneumatic cylinder, which is fast actuation
system, hence the vehicle has fast response. The system incorporates a provision to arrest the stroke of the
actuator to a desired level there by deciding the length of travel of the vehicle thus making the system flexible
enough to serve the needs of the flexible production system.

Fig.2 Assembly layout

III. WORKING OF DOUBLE ACTING PNEUMATIC CYLINDER

Pneumatic cylinders or air cylinders are mechanical devices which use the power of compressed air to produce a
force in a reciprocating linear motion or cylinders which converts pneumatic power into mechanical power [11].
Compressed air forces the piston to move in the desired direction. As the operating fluid is air, leakage from a
pneumatic cylinder will not drip out and contaminate the surroundings, making pneumatics more desirable
where cleanliness is a requirement. Because air is expandable substance, it is dangerous to use pneumatic
cylinder at high pressure so they are limited to 8 bar (gauge) pressure [6]. Consequently they are constructed
from lighter material such as aluminium and brass. Because gas is compressible substance, the motion of
Second National Conference on Recent Developments in Mechanical Engineering 51 | Page
M.E.Society's College of Engineering, Pune
 Vehicle Operating On Compressed Air by Inversion Of Slider Crank Mechanism
pneumatic cylinder is hard to control precisely. The force exerted by the compressed air moves the piston in two
directions in a double acting cylinder. These are used particularly when the piston is required to perform the
work not only in the forward movement but also on the return. In principle, the stroke length is unlimited,
although buckling and bending must be considered before we select particular size of piston diameter, rod length
and stroke length.

3.1 Force

The fluid pushes against the face of the piston and produced force. The force produced is given by

F=PA (1)
2 2
Where p= pressure in N/mm and A= Area the pressure acts on it mm
𝜋
F= 5x105 x 4 𝑥 𝑑2 (2)
F = 981.74 N
3.2 Speed

The speed of piston and rod depends upon the flow rate of fluid. The volume per second entering the cylinder
must be the change in volume per second.

Q m3/sec= Area x distance moved per second (2)

Q m3/sec= Area x velocity (full side) (3)

Q m3/sec= (A-a) x velocity (rod end side) (4)

3.2.2 Specification of Double Acting Pneumatic Cylinder

TABLE.1 Specification of Double Acting Cylinder

Model SC
Structure Piston Cylinder
Power Pneumatic
Body Material Aluminum
Bore Diameter 50mm
Stroke Length 100mm
Rod Diameter 25mm
Working Pressure 1.5-8 Bar

IV. 5/2 DIRECTIONAL CONTROL VALVE

To control the to and fro motion of a pneumatic cylinder, the air energy has to be regulated, controlled, and
reversed with a predetermined sequence in a pneumatic system [7]. Similarly one has to control the quantity of
pressure and flow rate to generate desired level of force and speed of actuation. To achieve these functions,
valves are used to-(i) start and stop pneumatic energy, (ii)control the direction of flow of compressed air,
(iii)control the flow rate of the compressed air and (iv) control the pressure rating of the compressed air. A
direction control valve has two or three working positions generally. They are:

1. Neutral and zero position

2. Working position

Second National Conference on Recent Developments in Mechanical Engineering 52 | Page

M.E.Society's College of Engineering, Pune
 Vehicle Operating On Compressed Air by Inversion Of Slider Crank Mechanism
4.1 Working of 5/2 DC Valve

First position - The pressurized air from port P is supplied to pneumatic cylinder from piston end which extends
the piston as shown in Fig.3. This forward motion of the piston forces out the air present at rod end side through
the port Q. During the extension of piston the port R is at hold position.

Second position - In second position as shown in Fig.4 the pressurized air is supplied to the piston rod end
through port P, B causing the piston to retract. During the retraction the air present at the piston side is forced
out through port Q.

Fig.3 5/2 DC Valve in first position[7] Fig.4 5/2 DC Valve in second position[7]

P = Pressure Port

A, B = Working Port

R, Q = Return Line

V. PROTOTYPE PARAMETERS
5.1 Dimension of Prototype vehicle: Fig. 5 shows prototype of pneumatic vehicle develop in the college
workshop. TABLE.2 shows the dimensions of the prototype.

TABLE.2
Length 1240mm
Width 920mm
Height 400mm

Fig 5 Prototype pneumatic vehicle

Second National Conference on Recent Developments in Mechanical Engineering 53 | Page

M.E.Society's College of Engineering, Pune
 Vehicle Operating On Compressed Air by Inversion Of Slider Crank Mechanism
5.2 Design: TABLE.3 shows the design parameters of prototype which is shown in Fig.2

TABLE.3
Material for Prototype frame Mild Steel (L section)
Gear for transmission Spur Gear
Bearing Ball Bearing 6204
Steering system Rack and Pinion
Load 100kg
Volume of compressed air tank 12 liter
Control valve 5/2 DC valve

5.3 Results & discussion: During the testing, it is observed that the time required to fill the compressed air tank
is about 144seconds @ 4 bar pressure which is very less than battery operated vehicle. Also,it is observed that
the prototype covers the distance of 50 meters in 12 liters.

TABLE.4
Time required to fill tank 144seconds@ 5bar pressure
Distance moved in 12 liters 50 meters

VI. CONCLUSION
The technology of compressed air vehicles is not new. In fact, it has been around for years. Compressed air
technology allows engines that are both nonpolluting and economical. This paper explores the effective
application of pneumatic power. Pneumatic vehicle will replace the battery operated vehicles used inindustries.
Pneumatic powered vehicle requires very less time for refueling as compared to battery operated vehicle. This is
totally clean, light weight circuit, can work in hazardous environment and requires less maintenance.

REFERENCES
1. B.R.Singh, O. Singh,Study of Compressed Air Storage System as Clean Potential Energy for 21st Century, Global Journal of
researches in engineering Mechanical and mechanics engineering,12(1), 2012
2. Y.M.Kim,D. Favrat,Energy and energy analysis of a micro compressed air energy storage and air cycle heating and cooling
system. Energy, 35 (1), (2010), 13-20.
3. C.Y. Yuan. T. Zhang, A. Rangarajan, D.Dornfeld, B. Ziemba, R. Whitbeck, A decision-based analysis of compressed air usage
patterns in automotive manufacturing, Journal of Manufacturing System, 25 (4) (2006), 293-300.
4. Cox R. Compressed air- clean energy in a green world, Glass Int. 19(2) (1996), 2.
5. F. Reuleaux, W. Kennedy; Kinematics of Machinery, 268, (1876), pp. 335.
6. E.C. Fitch, Fluid power and control system ,McGraw- Hill Book company, New York, USA, 1966
7. S R Majumdar, Pneumatic system (principles and maintenance, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, (1996), Technology & Engineering –
282.
8. A.Addala& S.Gangada, Fabrication and Testing of Compressed Air Car, Global Journal of Researches in Engineering Mechanical
and Mechanics Engineering, 13(1), ( 2013), 1-9.
9. A. Papson, F. Creutzig, L. Schipper, Compressed air vehicles: a drive cycle analysis of vehicle performance, environmental
impacts, and economic costs, 2010 Annual meeting of the transportation research board and publication in the transportation
research record.
10. S.S. Verma, Air Powered Vehicles, The Open Fuels & Energy Science Journal, (2008)1, 54-56.
11. J.P.Yadav,B. R. Singh, Study and Fabrication of Compressed Air Engine, Samriddhi, 2(1), (2011), 1-8.

Second National Conference on Recent Developments in Mechanical Engineering 54 | Page

M.E.Society's College of Engineering, Pune