Or The Boundary Layer Turbine Tesla Turbine Or The Boundary Layer Turbine

Tesla’s Airship -Nikola Tesla believed he would be the first man to fly. -His Idea was “a flying machine propelled by an electric motor, with power supplied from stations on the earth. - In 1913 he received the patent for what he called “the perfect rotary engine”.

High-pressure fluid enters. -Fluid exits through the exhaust ports in the center. A boundary layer formed between the surface of the disk and the fluid (water, oil, air) causes a centripetal motion forcing everything to the center. Small but powerful engine that has only one moving part. You can run the turbine in a reverse direction flow so you can use it as a pump. No blades or tight orifices, you can pump dirty fluid or a fluid that has sediment in it without harming the pump.

Early disks made of inferior materials. The Basic Parts The Disks- - The only moving part in the turbine. Early disks made of inferior materials. Modern day made of carbon-fiber, titanium-impregnated plastic or Kevlar-reinforced disks. They spin at 3,600 – 85,000 rpm. - If disk failure occurs.

More surface area= more power Disks - More disks = more surface area. More surface area= more power

Cylindrical design, Bladeless. Houses the bearings. Stator Simple, lightweight. Can be aluminum, steel, plastic, composite. Cylindrical design, Bladeless. Houses the bearings. Does not require crankcase oil = lighter weight. - Two ports for clockwise/counterclockwise movement.

Efficiency First built in 1906, Had 8, 6” disks. Weighed less than 10 pounds and developed 30 Hp. The rotor attained such high speeds, 35,000 rpm, that the metal disks stretched. In 1910 they built a larger model with 8, 12” disks. At 10,000 rpm developed 100 horsepower. Lastly they built one with 15, 60”. Operating at 3,600 rpm, generates 675 Hp. Disks always distorted. Tesla claimed 95% efficiency, but could only obtain 60% Modern day engines are around 27-28%

In the late 1970’s Warren Rice at Arizona State University, created a version of the Tesla turbine that operated at 41%. As of 2007, Frank Germano has one in continuous operation without component failure for 7 years. He has achieved 42.2% efficiency at 13,000 rpm, with 14.8 horse power output.

Modern Day Usage This is the Phoenix Navigation and Guidance Inc. turbine.

-combined the disk turbine with a pulse detonation -combined the disk turbine with a pulse detonation. -they claim delivers unprecedented efficiencies. -There are 29 active disks, each 10 inches in diameter. -The engine generates 18,000 rpm and 130 horsepower. - They use carbon-fiber, titanium-impregnated plastic and Kevlar-reinforced disks.