The current research of compressed air engine（CAE） mainly focused on simulations and system integrations. However, energy efficiency and output torque of the CAE is limited, which restricts its application and popularization. In this paper, the working principles of CAE are briefly introduced. To set a foundation for the study on the optimization of the CAE, the basic mathematical model of working processes is set up. A pressure-compensated valve which can reduce the inertia force of the valve is proposed. To verify the mathematical model, the prototype with the newly designed pressure-compensated intake valve is built and the experiment is carried out, simulation and experimental results of the CAE are conducted, and pressures inside the cylinder and output torque of the CAE are obtained. Orthogonal design and grey relation analysis are utilized to optimize structural parameters. The experimental and optimized results show that, first of all, pressure inside the cylinder has the same changing tendency in both simulation curve and experimental curve. Secondly, the highest average output torque is obtained at the highest intake pressure and the lowest rotate speed. Thirdly, the optimization of the single-cylinder CAE can improve the working efficiency from an original 21.95% to 50.1%, an overall increase of 28.15%, and the average output torque increases also increases from 22.047 5 N · m to 22.439 N · m. This research designs a single-cylinder CAE with pressure-compensated intake valve, and proposes a structural parameters design method which improves the single-cylinder CAE performance.
To analyze the working characteristics of complex compressed air networks, numerical methods are widely used which are based on finite element technology or intelligent algorithms. However, the effectiveness of the numerical methods is limited. In this paper, to provide a new method to optimize the design and the air supply strategy of the complex compressed air pipe network, firstly, a novel method to analyze the topology structure of the compressed air flow in the pipe network is initially proposed. A matrix is used to describe the topology structure of the compressed air flow. Moreover, based on the analysis of the pressure loss of the pipe network, the relationship between the pressure and the flow of the compressed air is derived, and a prediction method of pressure fluctuation and air flow in a segment in a complex pipe network is proposed. Finally, to inspect the effectiveness of the method, an experiment with a complex network is designed. The pressure and the flow of airflow in the network are measured and studied. The results of the study show that, the predicted results with the proposed method have a good consistency with the experimental results, and that verifies the air flow prediction method of the complex pipe network. This research proposes a new method to analyze the compressed air network and a prediction method of pressure fluctuation and air flow in a segment, which can predicate the fluctuation of the pressure according to the flow of compressed air, and predicate the fluctuation of the flow according to the pressure in a segment of a complex pipe network.
