The Hydristor is an infinitely variable vane hydraulic pump/motor -- a simplified automatic transmission with no gears, with regenerative storage capability, offering to double or triple the mileage per gallon, and to cut emissions by 75%. Vehicle performance will improve, enabling any car to go from 0 to 60 in three seconds using stored energy. Kasmer expects that the fuel-to-motion efficiency will be as high as 80%, compared to the low 30% range of present. The engine will last twice as long, because it can operate in its optimal range, and it doesn't have
to work as hard. Brake wear will be negligible.
The hydristor unit will come in 4-6 basic sizes and will install inside the bell housing, replacing the transmission and clutch. The engine will no longer be a direct drive to the wheels, through the transmission, but will keep the hydristor unit adequately charged, and the hydristor unit will drive the wheels. The unit will store the energy from the engine and from braking and from going down hill, to be used for acceleration and speed maintenance. The engine could even be turned off for stretches of driving, while the vehicle runs on the stored energy.
Kasmer also envisions pneumatic air pressure storage systems being employed that would enable up to 40 miles of travel without the engine running at all. A ten gallon air tank compressed to 5,000 psi is enough energy to propel a vehicle 40-50 miles. The Hydristor systems are being engineered to hold 10,000 psi.
Another system Kasmer intends to include is a heat pump that will harvest the heat from the exhaust and radiator, to convert it into electricity. In another industry, this heat pump principle could also be used for electricity generation via the temperature difference between the ocean and the air. Kasmer thinks this could be done at a price that would compete with conventional energy sources. One Hydristo
