A comprehensive review on compressed air powered engine

Air power technology for the mobility is reviewed in the context of mechanisms used and their working principle for compressed air powered engines. This paper explains the requirements of such technologies, implementation, comparison with other technologies and possible application areas. First, the layout of such propulsion system is described and associated efficiency terms are presented. Then after, different methods are presented along with detailed implementations and their results are discussed. From the results available, it is evident that with current mechanisms, vehicles powered solely by compressed air cannot be proved as a practical alternative. To compensate these limitations, hybrid pneumatics is reviewed along with their historical evolvements over time and potential of fuel savings. Different hybrid strategies are presented and most successful prototypes (MDI vehicles) are reviewed. At the end, comparison with other technologies is presented with conceptual ideas to improve efficiency.