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Original Article
Abstract
In the present article, a mathematical theory for the flow field within a Tesla disc turbine has been formulated in the
appropriate cylindrical co-ordinate system. The basis of the theory is the NavierStokes equations simplified by a
systematic order of magnitude analysis. The presented theory can compute three-dimensional variation of the radial
velocity, tangential velocity and pressure of the fluid in the flow passages within the rotating discs. Differential equations
as well as closed-form analytical relations are derived. The present mathematical theory can predict torque, power
output and efficiency over a wide range of rotational speed of the rotor, in good agreement with recently published
experimental data. The performance of the turbine is characterized by conceptualizing the variation of load through the
non-dimensional ratio of the absolute tangential velocity of the jet and the peripheral speed of the rotor. The mathematical model developed here is a simple but effective method of predicting the performance of a Tesla disc turbine along
with the three-dimensional flowfield within its range of applicability. A hypothesis is also presented that it may be possible
to exploit the effects of intelligently designed and manufactured surface roughness elements to enhance the performance
of a Tesla disc turbine.
Keywords
Tesla turbine, turbine efficiency, power, torque, analytical theory, three-dimensional flowfield
Date received: 20 April 2011; accepted: 19 March 2012
Introduction
Tesla turbine, a bladeless turbine, was patented by the
famous scientist Nikola Tesla (18561943) in 1913.1 Up
to now, a major stumbling block in its commercial use
has been its low eciency and certain other operational
diculties.2 However, there has been a resurgence of
research interest in this type of turbines3 because they
have several advantages (as explained below) and hence
may be appropriately developed and used in certain
niche application areas. In this article, an analytical
theory has been developed for predicting the performance of Tesla turbines, which agree well with experimental results.
The Tesla turbine is also known as disc turbine
because the rotor of this turbine is formed by a series
of at, parallel, co-rotating discs, which are closely
spaced and attached to a central shaft.2 The working
uid is injected nearly tangentially to the rotor by
means of inlet nozzle. The injected uid, which passes
through the narrow gaps between the discs, approaches
spirally towards the exhaust port located at the centre
of each disc. The viscous drag force, produced due to
the relative velocity between the rotor and the working
uid, causes the rotor to rotate. There is a housing
651
Mathematical analysis
In this section, a new mathematical theory for the performance of Tesla turbine is formulated. The ow conguration used for this purpose is the same as that of
Lemma et al.24
652
Assumptions
653
Momentum equation Vr
@V Vr V
2Vr
@r
r
@2 V
2
@z
r Momentum equation Vr
@Vr
V 2
2 r 2V
@r
r
1 dp
@2 V r
2
dr
@z
3
@P
0
@z
V V2
z Momentum equation
Boundary conditions
Figure 2. Fluid path lines computed in Fluent colored by particle ID in grey scale.
Mathematical formulation
at r r2
Vr Vr2
at z 0
Vr 0
V 0
at z b
Vr 0
V 0
at z b=2
@Vr @V
0
@z
@z
Vr r, z Vr2 RHz
10
where,
r
V r
Vr r
, R
, R
r2
V2
Vr2
V r, z
Vr r, z
Gz
, Hz
V r
Vr r
R
@Vr Vr
0
@r
r
Continuity equation
z
z
1
b
b
z
z
H6 1
b
b
G6
11
12
654
@rVr
rz 0
@r
13
0 r2
Vr r r2
r
Vr2
14
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
655
decreases linearly (up to 0.7 bar pressure drop) with
as given by:
Vr2 A B:
15
We introduce the following three non-dimensional variables for further theoretical development
p0
p p2
,
2 r22
2
Vr2
,
r2
U2
r2
16
The -momentum equation (2) is integrated partially (Appendix 3) with respect to z over the domain
(0, b/2), giving
R
d
1
10
10
2
dR
R
b
2
6 1
17
19
At R 1; p0 0
20
656
imposed value of pic . The value of is then systematically varied until the iteration converges to the given
value of pic . The same procedure is repeated for various values of .
It is noted that when is prescribed, equations (17)
and (18) can be integrated analytically to nd the variation of V as well as pic . Analytical integration of
equation (17) gives
C3
h
i
2
C4 exp C12R
21
where
10
10
C2
C1
C1
,C2
,C3 ,C4 1 C3 exp
C1
2
2 b2
6 1
The variation in from the rotor inlet to the central exit, for various values of , is shown in Figure 5.
It can be observed from this gure that for lower values
of (such as 1.5) increases monotonically from inlet
to the central exit; but for higher values of (such as 3,
7), at rst decreases then increases. This happens
because there are two opposing eects that tend
to change the value of : tends to decrease due to
the eect of viscous drag (friction) and tends to
increase due to the conservation of angular momentum.
As it is discussed in the Viscous drag and its consequences section viscous drag force is proportional
to the relative tangential velocity of the working uid
(V ). For a high value of , the relative tangential
velocity is high, therefore the eect of friction may
supersede the eect of conservation of angular momentum. This is why, when is high, initially decreases
from the inlet up to a certain value of R at which
attains its minimum value. At lower values of R,
increases again as the eect of the angular momentum
conservation starts to dominate. The three-dimensional
variation of the non-dimensional relative tangential velocity V is shown in Figures 7 and 8 for 1:5 and
7 respectively.
Substituting the expression of from
the equadp0
tion (21) into the equation (18), dR
is calculated
from the rotor inlet to the central exit for various
values
of . Figure 9 shows that the variation in
dp0
from
R 1 (rotor inlet) to R 0:528 (central
dR
exit) at lower value of is less than that at higher
value of .
Analytical integration of equation (18) gives
p0 p0k R C6 I1 C8 I2 C9 I3 C12
22
where
R2
1
C5 C11 lnR 2 C7 C10
2
2R
2
n1 3
C1 R2
X
1
2
2
1 6 C1 R
7
I1 4ln
5
2
n
1n
1!
2
1
p0k R
"
n1 #
1
X
C1 R2
C1 expC1 R2 C1
2
I2
ln C1 R
2
n 1n 1!
2C1 R2
1
2
h
i
n1 3
2
C1 R2
X
1
2
C1 exp C12R
2
C1 6 C1 R
7
I3
4ln
5
2
4
2
n
1n
1!
2C1 R
1
C5 2 1C3 , C6 2 1C4
6
6
C7 12 C23 , C8 12 C24
5
5
12
6
122
12 C3 C4 , C10 22 , C11
5
5
b2
p0k R C6 I1 C8 I2 C9 I3 RR1
C9
C12
657
w r
@z
@z
at z0
at z0
6V2 R
b
23
Zr2
w 2rrdr
=
r1
W th =tot
r1
ZR2
12V2 r32
R2 RdR
b
R1
12V2 r32
C4
C3 R22 R21
b
C1
2
C1 R2
C1 R21
exp
exp
2
2
26
6V2 R
2rrdr
b
24
25
27
658
Wact
28
W isentropic
_ p T2 T1
W isentropic m_ h2 h1 mc
" k1 #
T2
k
p2 k
_ 1
p1 Q1
cp mT
1
1
k1
T1
p1
29
30
31
659
Figure 10. Comparison of the present theory with experiment: variation of the power output of Tesla turbine with rotational speed.
Keys:
Theoretical ideal power output,
Theoretical
power output with loss, m Experimental power output.24 Each
bullet represents a steady state. For all calculations and experiments pic 0:113 bar.
Figure 11. Comparison of the present theory with experiment: variation of the efficiency (%) of Tesla turbine with rotational speed.
Keys:
Theoretical efficiency with loss as predicted by the
present theory, Efficiency of Tesla turbine from the
experiment.24 For all calculations and experiments
pic 0:113 bar.
Figure 10 shows that (for pic 0:113 bar), the theoretical power output Wth is zero at 5592 rad/s. This
occurs when 0:631, (this corresponds to the condition when there is no torque because of the action of the
uid jet on the disc). no torque 5592 rad=s thus corresponds to the steady-state condition under no load.
When the bearing and other parasitic losses are absent,
the no torque condition, the no load condition and the
no power condition all occur at the same steady rotational speed of the rotor. However, when bearing and
other parasitic losses are present, an external agency
will actually have to supply the power (that is equal
to the losses) for the disc to rotate at the steady rotational speed of 5592 rad/s. This is shown as the negative
power output in Figure 10. The power output with
losses becomes zero at 4950 rad/s, but at this point
the torque produced by the jet is non-zero.
Figure 11 shows the variation of the theoretical eciency of the Tesla disc turbine over a range of rotational speed of the disc rotor. Like Figure 10, each
computed point in Figure 11 represents a steady state
solution. The maximum theoretical eciency of the
nine discs rotor at pic 0:113 bar is 21%. A study
of Figures 10 and 11 together shows that the point of
maximum eciency occurs at a slightly dierent rotational speed as compared to the point of maximum
power: this is so because the denominator used in the
particular denition of eciency (equation (28)) also
depends on the rotational speed (as revealed by a consideration of equations (29), (30) and (15)). In the same
Figure 11, the experimental values from Lemma et al.24
are superposed so that a direct comparison of the prediction of the present theory with experiments is possible. In the context described in the third paragraph of
the Results and discussion section, the present theory
compares well with experiments.
660
Conclusion
A mathematical theory for the performance of a Tesla
disc turbine has been formulated here. The basis of the
theory is the NavierStokes equations simplied by a
systematic order of magnitude analysis resulting in the
present fundamental set of coupled dierential equations (1) to (3) that govern the ow-eld within a
Tesla disc turbine. The theoretical model can compute
the three-dimensional variation of the radial velocity,
tangential velocity and pressure of the uid in the ow
passages within the rotating discs. The partial dierential equations can be converted to ODEs by suitable
assumptions regarding non-dimensional velocity proles; the coupled set of ODEs (equations (17) and
(18)) can be integrated by simple numerical schemes
(section Integration of the r and momentum equations). Explicit, closed-form analytical results have also
been derived, giving Vr , V and p as functions of two
co-ordinates r and z. The theoretical model can predict
torque, power output and eciency, and compares well
with experimental results. A hypothesis is proposed
here that it may be possible to exploit the eects of
intelligently designed and manufactured surface roughness elements to enhance the performance of a Tesla
disc turbine.
Funding
This research received no specic grant from any
funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-prot
sectors.
References
1. Tesla N. Turbine. US Patent 1 061 206, 1913.
2. Hoya GP and Guha A. The design of a test rig and study
of the performance and efficiency of a Tesla disc turbine.
Proc IMechE, Part A: J Power and Energy 2009; 223(A4):
451465.
3. Guha A and Smiley B. Experiment and analysis for an
improved design of the inlet and nozzle in Tesla disc turbines. Proc IMechE, Part A: J Power and Energy 2010;
224: 261277.
4. Guha A. A unified theory for the interpretation of total
pressure and temperature in two-phase flows at subsonic
and supersonic speeds. Proc Roy Soc 1998; 454: 671695.
5. Guha A. Computation, analysis and theory of two-phase
flows. Aeronaut J 1998; 102(1012): 7182.
6. Steidel R and Weiss H. Performance test of a bladeless
turbine for geothermal applications. Lawrence Livermore
Laboratory, Report No. UCID-17068, 1974.
7. Rice W. Tesla turbomachinery. In: E Logan (ed.)
Handbook of turbomachinery. New York: Marcel Dekker,
2003, pp.861874.
8. Schroeder HB. An investigation of viscosity force in air by
means of a viscosity turbine. BAE Thesis, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, 1950.
661
1
2
Overbar
Appendix 1
Notation
Appendix 2
b
k
m_
p
P
p0
Q
r
R
U
V
Wth
Wloss
Wact
z
pic
0
rVr
r @r
r @
@z
According to assumption no. (4) enlisted in the
z
Assumptions section in the main text, @V
@z term is
neglected and considering assumption no. (3),
@V
@ 0. Therefore the simplied from of the continuity equation becomes
r2
2
rr22
V
=
=tot
1@
rVr 0
r @r
r @
r @
Dt
r
r
where
Subscripts
r
z
DU @U
@U U @U
@U
Ur
Uz
Dt
@t
@r
r @
@z
According to assumption no. (2), @U
@t 0, consider
ing assumption no. (3) Ur @U
0
and
neglecting the
@
term Uz @U
with
the
help
of
assumption
no. (4)
@z
DU
@U
Ur
Dt
@r
662
DUr @Ur
@Ur U @Ur
@Ur
Ur
Uz
Dt
@t
@r
r @
@z
@U Ur U
Ur
@r
r
r
According to assumption (2) @U
@t 0, considering
U @Ur
r
assumption (3) r @ 0 and neglecting Uz @U
@z with
DUr
@Ur
the help of assumption no. (4), Dt Ur @r .
Hence the L.H.S. of2 the r momentum equation
U
r
becomes Ur @U
@r r .
r2 U
@2 U 1 @U @2 U 1 @2 U
2 2 2
r @r
r @
@r2
@z
In the expression of r2 U ,
@2 U
@r2
1r @U
@r 55
where
@V Vr V
@2 V
2Vr 2
@r
r
@z
@2 Ur 1 @Ur @2 Ur 1 @2 Ur
2 2 2
r @r
r @
@r2
@z
2
@2 U r
r
In the expression of r2 Ur , @@rU2 r 1r @U
@r 55 @z2
2
(assumption no. (5)), and r12 @@U2 r 0 (assumption
no. (3)).
r2 Ur
Also in the R.H.S., r22 @U
@ 0 (assumption no. (3))
@p
@P
dP
@P
and @r @r (assumption no. (6)), @P
@r dr (as, @ 0
dp
dP
and @P
@z 0), again, dr dr (assumption no. (6)).
2
@Vr
V 2
1 dp
@2 Vr
2
2 r 2V
dr
@r
r
@z
Appendix 3
1. Derivation of equation (17) from equation (2)
Vr
@V Vr V
@2 V
2Vr 2
@r
r
@z
The -momentum equation (2) is integrated partially with respect to z over the domain (0, b/2)
b
Z2
Z2
Z2
@V
Vr V
Vr
z
z 2Vr z
@r
r
0
DUr U2
@p
Ur 2 @U
2
r Ur 2 2
@r
r @
Dt
r
r
0
b
2
Z
@2 V
z
@z2
663
The r-momentum equation (3) is integrated partially with respect to z over the domain (0, b/2)
b
b
b
pp2
2
Z2
Z2
2 2Z d
2
2
r2
@Vr
r2
z Vr
z 2 rz
r2
@r
d r
0
Z
2V z
@Vr
V 2
1 dp
@2 Vr
2
2 r 2V
dr
@r
r
@z
2
1 dp
@Vr
V
@2 V r
Vr
2 r 2V
2
Or;
dr
@r
r
@z
Vr
b
2
r2
b
2
V2
z
r
b
2
@2 V r
z
@z2
Substituting the denitions of p0 , 2 and as mentioned in the nomenclature, Vr from equation (10)
and V from equation (9), and integrating the resulting equation one obtains
dp0
6
2 6 2
2
R 2 1 12 23 12
5
b2 R
dR
R 5R