The hybrid Pneumatic Drive System for cars consists, basically, in the "hybridization" of a Turbo-Compound engine.
A Turbo-Compound engine is a motor which has a exhaust-powered turbine. That turbine, instead of turning a Compressor like on Turbochargers, adds power its power to the cranckshaft of the engine.
It was used on some planes the 50's, improving power of the engines about 20%. It can be seen on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo-compound_engine.
The "hybridization" of a Turbo-Compound engine can be seen in the upper image.
The hybrid pneumatic drive system comprises an internal combustion engine (1), a clutch (8) and a gearbox (9), a turbine (6) capable of recovering energy from the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine, one exhaust gases storage accumulator (3), a valve (4) or valves to manage the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine and a transmission (7) to connect the turbine to the input shaft of the gearbox. Also, there is an exhaust manifold (2), the exhaust (12), an additional valve (5), and a safety valve (11) is added to the storage accumulator. There are also the wheels (14) and the differential (13).
The system is capable of several different working modes:
- Drive Mode
- Braking Mode
- Start Mode
- Accelerating Mode
- Overtaking Mode
