Technical Paper
Demonstration of Air-Power-Assist (APA) Engine Technology for Clean Combustion and Direct Energy Recovery in Heavy Duty Application
2008-04-14
2008-01-1197
A typical pattern of city driving includes many accelerations and decelerations. A significant portion of the fuel energy is spent to accelerate a vehicle. This energy is typically wasted during subsequent decelerations. Capturing and reusing some of this energy would improve fuel economy. At present, it is generally accepted that electric hybrids represent a proven technology capable of capturing and reusing a portion of the braking energy. The major drawback of electric hybrids remains the high initial cost of hybrid drivetrains. An Air-Power-Assist (APA) engine, also known as “air hybrid”, accomplishes the same general type of energy storage and reuse as an electric hybrid but with greater simplicity [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
