Written by Luis Mendonça
We just received the following project update by Luis Mendonca including more drawings. For more information contact him through his email.
First of all I want to share a couple of photos of our efforts here in Michigan. The first photo shows our Sachs case with all the shaft components assembled and torqued down. The hot rotor flange is on the right, the output pulley on the left. Just below the bearing case are the disks, star washers and hot rotor case end plates -- as we received them from our laser cutter.
The time and effort saved by having a local shop laser cut these parts was well worth the relatively low cost. For our first stage prototyping we are working with a low-cost 836 steel; for final prototypes we'll specify either 316 or 416 stainless for all of these parts.
The next photo shows most of the parts assembled and ready for the hot rotor case ring and end plate.
Test Results
After final assembly of the hot rotor section we modified the outlet of our pulse combustor and attached it to the turbine
nozzle. Although the combustor cycled properly, the rotor did not self start. The nozzle being a 1" x 1" square tube did not generate enough directed energetic gas between the plates. Most of the gas energy went around the disks and exited the hot rotor case without transferring power to the disk pack. After grinding a nozzle insert and fitting it into the nozzle tube, the resultant slot impeded the pulse combustion cycle (using low pressure air).
Conclusions
Tesla turbines do not operate under conventional turbine principles. Bladed turbines require large volumes of relatively low velocity fluid, whereas Tesla turbines require lower volumes of accurately-directed high velocity fluid.
Tesla turbines work extremely well with steam, air, or hot gas fed to a slotted nozzle at around 80-160 psi. They do not work well with typical simple pulse combustor techniques.
In order to get pulse combustion to work properly with a Tesla turbine, air and fuel must be delivered to the chamber at pressures suitable to deliver approximately 80-160 psi of hot gas to the working rotor nozzle.
Future Developments
In the coming months we plan to experiment with steam and improved combustion systems for powering up the hot rotor section.
Other Club Member Development Updates
Don Thrasher sent us this photo of his star washer improvements. (For more information on his generator project, see our September 10 article.)
Also, Luis Mendonca sent a number of photos showing some of his work with Tesla turbines. The photos show some of his early work with steam or compressed air driving a turbine; other photos show his more recent work with pulse combustion techniques.
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Completed Pulse Combustion Turbine
December 24, 2001
We just received the following photos from Luis Mendonca. For more information contact him through his email.
Sun Dec 9 16:37:38 2001
The following is a collection of articles on the Tesla or Disk turbine.
- Tesla Turbine
- Three Keys to Tesla Turbine Efficiency
- First Detailed View of the Tesla Turbine
- The Pulse Combustion Turbine
- See Working Tesla Turbine Prototype
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Related Articles:
Gas vs. Diesel vs. Tesla TurbineSarah Paulin
The Tesla Car: The Reality Behind the Origins of the Electric AutomobileKris Land
Waste Oil can be Burned as a FuelPhoenix Navigation
Tesla Turbines are Very DifferentKris Land
Serbian inventor Nikola TeslaKris Land
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Breaking News
Take things that you are not going to wear or use and give it to a charity or someone who will use it.
1944: Camano Class Light Cargo Ship was laid down for the US Army as FS-289 at Wheeler Shipbuilding in Whitestone, NY.
1945: Delivered to US Army.
1950: Acquired by the US Navy on July 1, 1950 and placed in service as USNS New Bedford (T-AKL-17).
1954: The movie, Mister Roberts, was made on the USNS New Bedford (T-AKL-17).
1955 - 1963: Used as a cargo supply ship for the Texas Towers, a network of advanced radar stations located off the Eastern Seaboard. In 1957, Capt. Sixto Mangual was commander of the AKL-17 and in 1961 it was rechristened the USNS New Bedford. The New Bedford, sailing out of State Pier, was keeping vigil when Texas Tower No. 4 callapsed off the New Jersey coast during a January 1961 nor'easter.
1963: Reclassified as Miscellaneous Unclassified (IX-308).
1971: The New Bedford (IX-308) served as a Torpedo Test Firing Vessel in the Puget Sound area.
1994: Ceremony in New Bedford.
1995: The ship was struck from the Naval Register on April 4.
2004: The Sea Bird's current disposition is a tuna long liner (fishing boat) out of San Diego, CA.
2006: Design of the Tesla Turbine began on June 11, 2006. The Sea Bird was sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service for commercial service.
2007: The Sea Bird was drydocked for renovations.
2008: The Sea Bird setting sail to Sea-Tac in Seattle, WA.
2009 - 2010: The Sea Bird is currently docked at Seattle Sea-Tac.
