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See the "mechanical arm" part of my post you duly quoted, but apprently ignored.
Far as its mount - I can see a steel frame with a cushioning sleeve, and tank basically slides into that sleeve and a latch secures it in place. Railroad cars are not permanently attached to each other, nor are containers permanently attached to the trucks. You do not question the ability of a truck-container swivel to hold up to multi-ton stress over hundreds of miles of turns, bumps, lane shifts etc. But you question possibility of engineering a 400lb tank mouting system that will securely hold it in place yet will allow for quick replacement?
Here's one potential method: tank is installed horizontally, about 1.5' off the ground. Rack stores tanks in same position/height. Then, you have a 1.5' tall motorized electric dolly with roller bed and a hydraulic piston. It rolls up to a car, hauls a tank out on its bed, takes it to an empty spot on the rack, retrieves a full one, and delivers it to the car. The system can even be fully automated for very little extra cost. If you can buy a robot that looks for dirt on floor, vaccums it up and then returns to its charging dock for about $300, I don't see why not have a similar thing here. The system can be operated without need for additional employees. And specially designed trucks? So? We got tracks specially designed for gas, cars, concrete, garbage, etc - they all had to be designed and built at some point.
I am not saying anything about viability of the air car itself - all I am saying is that SHOULD it be decided to be an effective alternative, support infrastructure WILL be built. Gas station owners will likely be offered a discounted (or even free) lease on air tank replacement equipment until the technology is widely accepted. Compressor stations will be built and special trucks will be designed to deliver tanks to distribution points - just like requisite infrastructure was built in order to deliver gas to automobiles. Just like infrastructure was built for credit card usage, for telephone networks, for electricity, etc.
Yes, the initial expense compared to immediate return, would seem like a bad deal. But here is a little thought: I recently converted from oil to gas for home heat. Gas company needed to branch off their main from across the road, across my front yard, under a concrete walkway, to bring gas to my house. Cost to me? Zero. Because company estimates profits from having me as a customer for the next 10 years - and charges for install only if hookup cost is greater. 10 years to recoup the installation and actually start getting profit from me is fine by them.
Means if air - or anything else - is deemed viable, infrastructure will be built, no matter the initial cost.
P.S. moisture - SCUBA tanks see use day in day out. Usually alternating from 500 to 4000psi, and they are used in a VERY harsh environment - primarily sea water. Btw, it is considered bad to take a tank below 500 psi - specifically because of moisture. And SCUBA compressors tend to dry the air out as they pump it in to minimize moisture. These tanks have a lifespan of about 10 years. Similar measures can be used for air cars.
Far as its mount - I can see a steel frame with a cushioning sleeve, and tank basically slides into that sleeve and a latch secures it in place. Railroad cars are not permanently attached to each other, nor are containers permanently attached to the trucks. You do not question the ability of a truck-container swivel to hold up to multi-ton stress over hundreds of miles of turns, bumps, lane shifts etc. But you question possibility of engineering a 400lb tank mouting system that will securely hold it in place yet will allow for quick replacement?
Here's one potential method: tank is installed horizontally, about 1.5' off the ground. Rack stores tanks in same position/height. Then, you have a 1.5' tall motorized electric dolly with roller bed and a hydraulic piston. It rolls up to a car, hauls a tank out on its bed, takes it to an empty spot on the rack, retrieves a full one, and delivers it to the car. The system can even be fully automated for very little extra cost. If you can buy a robot that looks for dirt on floor, vaccums it up and then returns to its charging dock for about $300, I don't see why not have a similar thing here. The system can be operated without need for additional employees. And specially designed trucks? So? We got tracks specially designed for gas, cars, concrete, garbage, etc - they all had to be designed and built at some point.
I am not saying anything about viability of the air car itself - all I am saying is that SHOULD it be decided to be an effective alternative, support infrastructure WILL be built. Gas station owners will likely be offered a discounted (or even free) lease on air tank replacement equipment until the technology is widely accepted. Compressor stations will be built and special trucks will be designed to deliver tanks to distribution points - just like requisite infrastructure was built in order to deliver gas to automobiles. Just like infrastructure was built for credit card usage, for telephone networks, for electricity, etc.
Yes, the initial expense compared to immediate return, would seem like a bad deal. But here is a little thought: I recently converted from oil to gas for home heat. Gas company needed to branch off their main from across the road, across my front yard, under a concrete walkway, to bring gas to my house. Cost to me? Zero. Because company estimates profits from having me as a customer for the next 10 years - and charges for install only if hookup cost is greater. 10 years to recoup the installation and actually start getting profit from me is fine by them.
Means if air - or anything else - is deemed viable, infrastructure will be built, no matter the initial cost.
P.S. moisture - SCUBA tanks see use day in day out. Usually alternating from 500 to 4000psi, and they are used in a VERY harsh environment - primarily sea water. Btw, it is considered bad to take a tank below 500 psi - specifically because of moisture. And SCUBA compressors tend to dry the air out as they pump it in to minimize moisture. These tanks have a lifespan of about 10 years. Similar measures can be used for air cars.
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