Compressed Air-Transmission Motor Car
By using compressed air to power a steam engine which drives the rear axle, Professor H.L. Callendar removed the need for a standard transmission system which includes the clutch and gearbox. Instead of mechanically transmitting the movement from the internal combustion engine to the rear axle, the engine's energy is stored as compressed air. When released using the car's controls, the compressed air expands and moves the steam engine's pistons which cause the rear axle to turn the wheels. The idea was to benefit from the steam car's direct drive to the rear axle and thus lack of transmission, while avoiding the disadvantages of steam power by using an internal combustion engine. The lack of mechanical transmission allowed for greatly simplified controls with just a lever to release air in place of the accelerator, ignition, clutch and gearbox controls in a normal car. It also made acceleration very smooth and the car could achieve a maximum of 30 mph on the flat, but it was quite inefficient and remained an experimental design.
- Measurements:
-
overall: 1720 mm x 1560 mm x 3340 mm,
- Materials:
- metal (unknown) , rubber (unidentified) , textile/ leather , asbestos , wood (unidentified) , glass and hair (animal)
- Object Number:
- 1930-839 Pt1
- type:
- car