A Tesla turbine makes use of a fluid’s viscous force to cause rotation of a set of closed spaced disks. In this paper, the theoretical analysis method proposed by Carey et al in 2010 was improved, and the design method has taken the pressure drop occurring in the rotor into consideration in order to approach its physics condition of flow. The sensitivity of the design parameters on the isentropic efficiency of Tesla turbines was investigated, and the results indicate that rotor tip Mach number is the most sensitive factor, followed in turn by the pressure ratio across the turbine, the specific heat ratio, the non-dimensional rotor radius ratio, the dimensionless inlet tangential velocity difference, and the modified Reynolds number. A typical Tesla turbine was designed and its flow characteristics were numerically simulated by 3-dimensional viscous governing equations. The results of numerical simulations show that the isentropic efficiency increases with the rotational speed and increasing turbine pressure ratio and as the nozzle number drops. The output power goes up with the rotational speed and increasing nozzle number, but decreases with increasing pressure ratio across the turbine. The highest isentropic efficiency 0.436 of the Tesla turbine supply with 2 nozzles is obtained with the pressure ratio 0.8 and the rotational speed 24,658r/min. Combining the influence of nozzle number on isentropic efficiency and output power, a Tesla turbine with two or four nozzles is suggested. Generally the results of numerical calculations show that they are in reasonably agreement with the results of design method, and are also consistent with the results of sensitivity analysis.
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ASME Turbo Expo 2013: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition
June 3–7, 2013
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- International Gas Turbine Institute
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5524-9
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Improvement of a Theoretical Analysis Method for Tesla Turbines
Qinghua Deng,
Qinghua Deng
Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
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Wenjiao Qi,
Wenjiao Qi
Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
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Zhenping Feng
Zhenping Feng
Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Qinghua Deng
Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Wenjiao Qi
Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Zhenping Feng
Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Paper No:
GT2013-95425, V06CT40A012; 14 pages
Published Online:
November 14, 2013
Citation
Deng, Q, Qi, W, & Feng, Z. "Improvement of a Theoretical Analysis Method for Tesla Turbines." Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo 2013: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition. Volume 6C: Turbomachinery. San Antonio, Texas, USA. June 3–7, 2013. V06CT40A012. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/GT2013-95425
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