Usign Sunlight to Compress Air

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ronwagn Guru Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1059 Good Answers: 12	Usign Sunlight to Compress Air 03/17/2009 10:41 AM
	There is some talk of building compressed air cars. Of course there are many uses for compressed air, and it could be used for many more purposes. The question is this: Could sunlight be harnessed to compress air, using known principles and products? Could this be done cheaply and efficiently? I am thinking that air heated in tubes, could pass through a one way valve or valves, into a pressure tank, as new air is allowed into the valve system to be heated, and so on.
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	Pathfinder Tags: car compressed air engine solar power

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Anonymous Poster	#1 Re: Usign Sunlight to Compress Air 03/17/2009 11:45 AM
	Would this be the same thing as a solar-powered air compressor, ronwagn?
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JohnDG Guru Join Date: May 2006 Location: Reading, Berkshire, UK. Going under cover. Posts: 9684 Good Answers: 468	#2 In reply to #1 Re: Using Sunlight to Compress Air 03/17/2009 12:15 PM
	That article talks (very patchily) about one way of doing it (i.e. using a solar panel to generate electricity to drive a motor to run a compressor) - which is going to be a pretty inefficient method, also heavy in financial outlay. There must be many other ways - using a solar powered Stirling engine, maybe, or some kind of pressure intensifier (large bore cylinder half-full of air heated by sun - mechanically linked to small bore cylinder to compress air - air goes through non-return valve to a receiver - at end of stroke, another valve flips open to exhaust large cylinder & a spring returns it for next stroke). Food for thought, there. __________________ "Love justice, you who rule the world" - Dante Alighieri
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ronwagn Guru Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1059 Good Answers: 12	#6 In reply to #1 Re: Usign Sunlight to Compress Air 03/18/2009 9:48 PM
	Not the same thing I had in mind. Sorry for the typo.
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Roy H. Active Contributor Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 15 Good Answers: 1	#3 Re: Using Sunlight to Compress Air 03/18/2009 1:07 AM
	Hi Just a thought: The concept is interesting and may even work, depending how high the pressure must be to do the work. I suspect trying to achieve the pressure needed to run a car ample distance would be difficult. On the other hand, one way a solar compressor may work would be to have very large diameter Bellows filled with a very expandable gas where the Bellows are designed with two chambers or a Bellows within a Bellows. The Bellows chamber filled with the expandable gas faces the sun and as it expands it forces the air from the second Bellows chamber which is air filled, through a check valve, into a storage tank. The series of Bellows are positioned in a lazy suezen fashion with equel spacing to provide for sun shade umbrellers that rotate by wind or a compressed air motor at the end of each cycle for cooling, to begin the reheat process again after the sun shades rotate, thereby exposing the Bellows again to the sun for the next cycle. The sun shades are shaped to give a chimney effect to allow a draft of air movement to help cool the Bellows for more efficently. There you have my two cents worth.. good luck Roy H.
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PWSlack Guru Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: In the bothy, 7 chains down the line from Dodman's Lane level crossing, in the nation formerly known as Great Britain. Kettle's on. Posts: 32175 Good Answers: 839	#4 Re: Usign Sunlight to Compress Air 03/18/2009 4:15 AM
	Efficiency would suggest that, rather than compressed air, battery electrical would be the better way to go. When every kWh counts, it is worth making the best of them. __________________ "Did you get my e-mail?" - "The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place" - George Bernard Shaw, 1856
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3Doug Guru Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kiefer OK Posts: 1325 Good Answers: 22	#5 Re: Usign Sunlight to Compress Air 03/18/2009 5:22 PM
	My concept is to mate a concave lens to a concave reflector, both with focal points on the mating plane. The unit would be mounted at an angle dependent on latitude to maximize the capture of sunlight and reduce or eliminate the need for automated adjustment. The unit would have a pair of one-way intake and exhaust valves. The intake valves would be located in the "cool" portion, and the exhaust valves located in the "warm" portion. When the air is heated and expanded enough, it will push open the exhaust valve. When enough air has "escaped," that will set up a pressure differential that will open the intake valve. I see this a totally or mostly passive device that could supply compressed air for occasional use. How much compressed air will it generate? Dunno, haven't done the math yet. And then there'd be drawings to draw, investors to find, experiments to conduct, designs to tweak, products to test market, yadda³, blah³. Anyone looking for a project? Contact me, expect to pay royalties. __________________ I wonder..... Would Schrödinger's cat play with a ball of string theory?
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