An Experimental Study on Effect of Disc Spacing and Disc Surface Roughness on The Performance of Tesla Turbine

Muhammad Nor Ikmal  Muhamad Nazri; Adi Azriff  Basri; Ernnie Illyani  Basri; Farid  Bajuri; Imanina Hasya  Razali; Mohammad Zuber  Mahe

doi:10.37934/ard.125.1.103113

Authors

Muhammad Nor Ikmal Muhamad Nazri Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Adi Azriff Basri Aerospace Malaysia Research Center (AMRC), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Ernnie Illyani Basri Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Farid Bajuri Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Imanina Hasya Razali Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohammad Zuber Mahe Department of Aeronautical & Automobile Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37934/ard.125.1.103113

Keywords:

Tesla turbine, surface roughness , discs thickness, renewable energy

Abstract

A breakthrough bladeless turbine, usually referred to as the "Tesla turbine," was one of Nikola Tesla's finest innovations but never saw commercial production. Tesla's original design was hampered by a dearth of technology and knowledge at the time of its creation. This turbine drives a set of stacked discs using frictional and viscous forces rather than blades. Losses in conventional turbines are caused by these factors. Researchers have attempted to create the turbine, but have never been able to match Nikola Tesla's expected efficiency. Tesla's original design was intended to replace inefficient full-scale turbines of the time. Parameters of the Tesla Turbine are the most crucial part of the turbine that influence its efficiency. This project aimed to investigate the effect of some parameters including the distance between the disc and the disc surface roughness towards the efficiency of the turbine. The study proved that reducing the gap between the discs helps to improve the performance of the turbine. This research also found out that surface roughness of the disc gives contribution towards the efficiency of the Tesla Turbine.