Questions about the Tesla turbine

[Chiel555]

Hi all, i have some questions about the tesla turbine:

is a tesla turbine more efficient than a steam engine or a stirling engine ?

about the discs of the tesla turbine warping because of the high speed rotations; does running the engine
on a lower speed solve that or will the discs warp anyway after time ?

what is the difference in efficiency between the tesla turbine running at high speed
and running it at a lower speed ( as fast as possible but low enough to not warp de discs)

and: i have read that the tesla turbine has too little torque to be useful:
how about solving that with some gears ?

Thanks !

Chiel

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to PF.

Can you give us links to the reading you have been doing on this subject? That will help us to try to answer your questions. Thanks.

 

[sophiecentaur]

is a tesla turbine more efficient than a steam engine or a stirling engine ?

You have to be careful here. Appending the name "Tesla" to an invention does not automatically mean it's better than anything else. I'd also be interested in your sources.

 

[Chiel555]

Ok, so i have read parts of:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine
and:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_engine

furthermore bits and pieces on internet sites, internet fora, wikipedia pages en videos seen on youtube; which ones exactly i don't know any more

 

[sophiecentaur]

and: i have read that the tesla turbine has too little torque to be useful:
how about solving that with some gears ?

The problem with high ratio gears tends to be low efficiency. I seem to remember that piston aero engines are deliberately design to run with low revs (to suit an airscrew) when high revs are better for piston engines.

 

[256bits]

is a tesla turbine more efficient than a steam engine or a stirling engine ?

I don't believe there is a reasonable answer to the question as posed. The tesla turbine is a mechanical machine that converts fluid flow to shaft work, utilizing kinetic energy and viscosity of the fluid to produce friction on the plates.
The other 2 are heat engines that convert heat from combustion of a fuel, or other source, to shaft work, utilizing the expansion of the working fluid to drive the piston.

For the tesla turbine, one should include the fuel used to heat the fluid to produce pressure of the fluid needed to have it exit the nozzle at velocity.

For hydro machinery, one could compare the different types of turbines that extract shaft horsepower from a head of fluid. And even include reciprocating motors also. They all have different efficiencies at different levels of head. Where the tesla turbine falls amongst different turbo machinery I do not know.

I guess more research on your part is necessary.

 

[Chiel555]

I don't believe there is a reasonable answer to the question as posed. The tesla turbine is a mechanical machine that converts fluid flow to shaft work, utilizing kinetic energy and viscosity of the fluid to produce friction on the plates.
The other 2 are heat engines that convert heat from combustion of a fuel, or other source, to shaft work, utilizing the expansion of the working fluid to drive the piston.

For the tesla turbine, one should include the fuel used to heat the fluid to produce pressure of the fluid needed to have it exit the nozzle at velocity.

For hydro machinery, one could compare the different types of turbines that extract shaft horsepower from a head of fluid. And even include reciprocating motors also. They all have different efficiencies at different levels of head. Where the tesla turbine falls amongst different turbo machinery I do not know.

I guess more research on your part is necessary.

According to youtube a tesla turbine can run on steam;
for example, just search on youtube for:

Tesla Turbine Spooling up on 20kW Steam

and watch the top video

 

[256bits]

According to youtube a tesla turbine can run on steam;
for example, just search on youtube for:

Tesla Turbine Spooling up on 20kW Steam

and watch the top video

According to fluid dynamics, a Tesla turbine can run on any fluid, either gaseous or liquid.
Youtube videos can be found of Tesla turbines running on water.

 

[Rive]

is a tesla turbine more efficient than a steam engine or a stirling engine ?

First of all, all three of those are specialized, niche designs. Comparing them carelessly is like ... bikes, cars, planes (and oranges) kind of question...

For an expanding working 'fluid' like gas and steam classic turbines are preferred since various stages (for different pressures) can be fitted on the same axle. Classic (compound) steam engines had a similar trick with multiple expansion cycles.
Compared to these, for tesla turbines maintaining the uniformity of the flow is crucial, and I'm not aware of any trivial possibility to properly design for expansion.