Significant new rotary engine design runs on compressed air
from Automotive (1559 articles)
The Engine air-powered Gator
Image Gallery ( 8 images )September 15, 2004 There is no other motor as efficient as the Di Pietro Rotary Air Engine. It is 100% more efficient than any other air powered engine built to date and its high torque makes it the first air engine suitable for mobile applications. The invention has the capacity to revolutionise transportation, plus offer a multitude of energy-saving benefits in stationary applications.
The engine has no emissions, is very quiet, has constant high torque, a low parts count, no vibration and is very efficient - only 1 PSI of pressure is needed to overcome the friction to enable movement.
The engine has no emissions, is very quiet, has constant high torque, a low parts count, no vibration and is very efficient - only 1 PSI of pressure is needed to overcome the friction to enable movement.
Former Mercedes Benz experimental engineer Angelo di Pietro conceived the Rotary Air Engine while working in his Melbourne-based Engineering business over many years.
"I started work on this project many years ago in my head," said Pietro, "and I have seen the need for such an engine many times. As my engineering business was doing okay, I was able to spend more time on the idea and with each new prototype the design has been refined."
In 1999 he made a major design breakthrough and the first prototype was constructed. Since then, six prototypes have been built, each more efficient, more powerful and lighter than the previous one.
It's not surprising that Di Pietro's design should be a rotary engine. Angelo Di Pietro, (1950, Avellino, Italy) qualified as Congegniatore Meccanico in Avellino moved to Stuttgart, Germany to work on the Wankel rotary engine at the Mercedes Benz research laboratories 1969 and 1970. In 1971 he migrated to Australia where he established a construction engineering company.
From his early experience with Wankel rotary engines, Angelo became interested in developing a more efficient engine than the traditional reciprocating internal combustion engine, and he has worked on various alternative concepts intermittently over the last 30 years.
Recognising the potential of his invention Di Pietro decided to fully focus on the development of the new motor concept. The principle worked with the first prototype and, although not built to fine engineering tolerances, its performance far exceeded expectations.
