Design and energy saving analysis of a novel isobaric compressed air storage device in pneumatic systems

Abstract

Compared with traditional isochoric storage of compressed air in pneumatic systems, isobaric storage possesses many advantages. In this study, a novel isobaric compressed air storage device is proposed by introducing compressed gas energy storage and a nonlinear cam transformation mechanism. The critical profiles on both sides of cam are deduced and the mathematical model of a typical pneumatic system is established under different control modes. A parametric analysis is also conducted to reveal how the energy-saving performance can be affected by several factors. The results show that this new isobaric compressed air storage device presents favorable constant-pressure characteristic and energy-saving performance. With a pneumatic system working pressure of 0.4 MPa, 18% energy savings can be achieved and the compressed air pressure is stable within 2.14%. The working pressure of system has a significant effect on the energy-saving performance and the energy-saving rate decreases with the increasing working pressure. The proposed novel isobaric compressed air storage device provides a new way to reduce pressure and energy consumption of pneumatic systems.