Asst. Prof. Dr. Barbaros Çetin from Bilkent University Mechanical Engineering Department asserted that compressed-air engines have been a technology used in certain periods in history.
Pointing out to the fact that there are vehicle prototypes using this technology especially in France, Dr. Çetin stated “compressed-air technology is crucial for our country since it has potential to be manufactured with local resources.” Dr. Çetin went on to say that the compressed-air vehicle has been manufactured in six months with local resources and by the mechanical engineering students Utku Hatipoğlu, Cem Aydoğan and Yiğit Oskay, who are also the members of Mechanical Engineering Society. Underlining the work of Turkish technicians for the manufacturing of the chassis, Dr. Çetin also incorporated “our vehicle is powered by pressurized air which is stored in a tank and flows into a piston engine through a regulator. The exhaust of the engine is inhalable air. The air is pressured by a compressor which runs on electricity. However, this electrical energy can be generated using solar and/or wind energy, in this case the compressed-air becomes free. In the meantime, due to the expansion process in the engine, the temperature of the engine drops. In this respect, the vehicle contains a natural air conditioning unit.”
Dr. Çetin put forward that the vehicle is the first prototype and he indicated that the Project started as an undergraduate Project, but from now on our goal is much bigger. He added “we will continue to work on the project to develop a golf-cart and a wheel-chair for disabled people powered by the same technology. Especially, if we will be able to build a wheel-chair, we can increase the life quality of many underprivileged and disabled people, since the wheel-chairs based on this technology will be economically more feasible than the electricity counterparts in the market.”