A quad powered by compressed nitrogen has departed from the Department of Vehicles of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Opole University of Technology. Work on the prototype took nearly five years.
The quad was equipped with a pneumatic-hydraulic drive system that uses compressed gas as an energy store. The energy stored in the gas is then used to push hydraulic fluid through the system – thus driving a hydraulic motor. Researchers at the Opole university see many different applications for the solution they have developed.
“Such devices are very good for trucks, when a lot of energy has to be expended in a short time. This solution can also be used in stationary systems, e.g. where you need to do a start-up of a large engine with great initial loads. It is suitable for materials handling and for hybrid systems, especially where there is waste heat”, says Prof Sebastian Brol from the Department of Vehicles quoted in the university’s website.
