Federation University: Tesla Turbine Design and CFD Simulation

This project presents a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a Tesla turbine, a bladeless turbine gaining attention for its potential in various applications. The study begins with a literature review, examining the turbine's design, operational principles, and existing research. The project then delves into the CFD simulation, focusing on key parameters such as velocity streamlines, pressure gradients, Reynolds number, mass flow rate, and specific speed. The approach involves geometrical modeling using design software, importing the geometry into CFD software, applying appropriate boundary conditions, and generating a fine mesh for accurate results. The analysis aims to understand the turbine's performance characteristics and identify opportunities for enhancement. The research questions address the simulation of small-scale turbines, their potential applications, the advantages of CFD over real experiments, and methods to improve their performance. The project's significance lies in the miniaturization of power generation devices and the need for efficient turbine designs, particularly for low and intermediate temperature applications, where Tesla turbines offer advantages over conventional turbines. The document also includes references to relevant research papers and the student's interest and expertise in fluid mechanics and simulation software.

Design and simulation of TESLA turbine
Problem statement
These days lot of research is going on in the field of power and heat generation for
domestic as well as industrial application. These all study are targeted towards
miniaturisation of the device which works well in case of low and intermediate temperature
application. Earlier Organic Rankine Cycles were used but they work inadequately when
system size goes smaller and they need to be replaced, this problem can be solved by using
Tesla turbines as they are cheap, consistent and have simple structure. These are
unconventional type of turbines because they use impact of boundary layer on the blade not
conventional impinge of the fluid on the blade. These are also known as bladeless turbine or
Prandtl layer turbine. Present work will focus on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
analysis of the Tesla turbine. Study of velocity streamlines and pressure gradient inside the
turbine will be analysed for different parameters like Reynolds number, mass flow rate and
specific speed of the turbine.
Equations govern the flow inside the Tesla turbines are,
Conservation of mass
This equation is also known as continuity equation, for two-dimensional steady
incompressible flow the equation can be written as,
∂ u
∂ x + ∂ v
∂ y =0
Conservation of momentum
X-momentum equation
u ∂ u
∂ x + v ∂ u
∂ y =−1
ρ
∂ p
∂ x + ν ( ∂2 u
∂ x2 + ∂2 u
∂ y2 )
Y-momentum equation
u ∂ v
∂ x + v ∂ v
∂ y =−1
ρ
∂ p
∂ y + ν ( ∂2 v
∂ x2 + ∂2 v
∂ y2 )
Figure 1 below shows the original sketch of the Tesla turbine (Matej, 1993)

Figure 1: Original sketch of Tesla turbine
Literature review
Tesla turbine is an eccentric turbine that use fluid properties, for instance, restrain
layer and connection of fluid on the game plan of smooth plates keyed to a post. It has been
gathering excitement as Pico turbine (Pandey et al, 2014) where neighbourhood gatherings
could supervise such stations in the low capital. It gives a direct outline which can be
conveyed locally and kept up expecting practically zero exertion. It can be useful in plants for
pumping of water and distinctive gooey fluids (Manfrida et al, 2017).
The Tesla Turbine works by the association of a fluid that enters at the outside edge of
a course of action of immovably isolated circle platters, voyaging circumferentially through
openings between the plates, trading vitality by methods for restrict layer correspondences.
The fluid by then incapacitates through holes in the platters along the centreline of the
platters (Neckel and Godinho, 2015)
In the most outlines of the Tesla turbine, the dicks are mounted to a casing, and the
fluid enters the chamber with the help of spout fitted outside. Labyrinth seals are set
ostensibly of the hover pack with a particular true objective to keep spill out of bypassing the
plates while being non-contact. Power is then taken off from the shaft, and the fluid leaves

the turbine to either atmosphere, helper stages, or through a power cycle (Sengupta and Guha,
2012).
Despite the said hypotheses, a couple of papers were disseminated in perspective of the
diagram presented in "The Design of a test apparatus and investigation of the execution of a
Tesla plate turbine" (Hoya and Guha 2009), and "Examination and investigation for an
enhanced plan of the gulf and the spout in Tesla Disk Turbines " by Guha and Smiley (2009).
The arrangement used is predominantly the same as that of Rice. This arrangement used
circles that were 92mm in width and worked at a weight of 3.9. Most outrageous efficiency
was evaluated at reaching toward 25%, that regard joined the frictional torque inside the
system (Romanin, 2012).
Along these lines, it is to a great degree difficult to balance any given work with
another; each structure contains inside it different wellsprings of oversight and stream
streams. Starting in the relatively recent past, there was not a whole theoretical depiction of
the turbine by Sengupta and Guha (2012), and a result, it was naturally more hard to
absolutely portray these refinements (Dzepceski et al., 2015).
By analysing the literature, it was picked that most of the arrangement for the present
layout would be taken from the most current papers (Hoya and Guha, 2009), and (Guha and
Smiley, 2009), and (Dzepceski et al., 2015). These two papers depict a contraption that is of a
sensible size and uses incorporate that were regarded by the maker as alluring, including the
cantilevered circle pack, and surge on focus with weakening. Tesla turbine is based on the
principle of Navier-stokes equation, and works between the round plates separated by a hole
of size 2𝛿. These conditions are favourably created in a barrel-formed sort out system (r, z)
and seeing the relative speeds with respect to turning plates (Gingery, 2004).
Scope of the present work
Turbines are the necessary devices of any power or heat generation industry and with
system miniaturisation it is mandatory to analyse them a lower scale. Turbines give work
output which decides how much will be the overall efficiency of the system. Present work
will target towards the modelling of the Tesla turbine using computational fluid dynamics.
Momentum transfer will be studied in the CFD to analyse the velocity and pressure contours
inside the Tesla turbine (Sengupta and Guha, 2012). CFD is a very vast filed and is being
utilized in everywhere around the globe taking from industry to education.

Research questions
 Simulation of small scale Tesla turbine’s characteristics.
 Application of these small scale turbines in other industries.
 Use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and its advantages of real experiments in
respect to turbines (Sengupta and Guha, 2012).
 How to enhance the performance of Tesla turbines.
Proposed approach
Simulation of the Tesla turbines will be done using computational fluid dynamics
available software like FLUENT or CFX. A wide literature review will be conducted on the
Tesla turbine to select the appropriate variable for the analysis. Then the design software like
CATIA/SolidWorks/AutoCAD will be selected for geometrical modelling of the Tesla
turbine then its geometry will be imported in the CFD software. After this, appropriate
boundary condition will be applied on the inlet and outlet part of the Tesla turbine. Meshing
play a very important role in the CFD analysis of problem related to fluid flow and heat
transfer. Some advanced meshing function will be utilized for creating fine meshing on the
significant region of the Tesla turbine. At the end result of velocity, pressure and other
significant parameter will be plotted and analysed.
I have very good interest in the field of fluid mechanics and real life problems related
to fluid. I also have basic knowledge of turbines and their applications. I am also very much
interested in the simulation software like CFD. I acquire all the knowledge and skill set to
undertake this project. I also have basic idea about the conservation equation like mass and
momentum, their partial derivative terms and their meanings.
References
Hoya, G., & Guha, A. (2009) The design of a test rig and study of the performance and
efficiency of a Tesla disc turbine. Journal of Power and Energy, 224, 451-465.
Lampart, P., Kosowski, K., Piwowarski, M., & Jędrzejewski, Ł. (2009). Design analysis of
Tesla micro-turbine operating on a low-boiling medium. Polish Maritime
Research, 16(Special).
Romanin, V. (2012). Theory and Performance of Tesla Turbines. Berkeley, CA.
Sengupta, S., & Guha, A. (2013). Analytical and computational solutions for three-
dimensional flow-field and relative pathlines for the rotating flow in a Tesla disc
turbine. Computers & Fluids, 88, 344-353.

Pandey, R. J., Pudasaini, S., Dhakal, S., Uprety, R. B., & Neopane, H. P., (2014). Design and
Computational Analysis of 1kW Tesla Turbine, International Journal of Scientific and
Research Publication, 4(11), 1-5.
Dzepceski, D., Georgijevic, N., Pavlovic, J., Arnautovic, D., Lukic, S., & Stanojcic, V. et al.
(2015). Verification of turbine and governor model of hydro generator unit for the
purpose of load frequency control system simulation. Zbornik Radova,
Elektrotehnicki Institute Nikola Tesla, (25), 145-153.
Krishnan, V. (2015). Design and Fabrication of cm-scale Tesla Turbines. Berkeley, CA.
Neckel, A., & Godinho, M. (2015). Influence of geometry on the efficiency of convergent–
divergent nozzles applied to Tesla turbines. Experimental Thermal And Fluid
Science, 62, 131-140.
Sengupta, S., & Guha, A. (2016). Flow of a nanofluid in the microspacing within co-rotating
discs of a Tesla turbine. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 40(1), 485-499.
G., K. (2017). Design Analysis of Tesla Turbine (PhD).
Manfrida, G., Pacini, L., & Talluri, L. (2017). A revised Tesla Turbine Concept for ORC
applications. Energy Procedia, 129, 1055-1062.
Song, J., Gu, C., & Li, X. (2017). Performance estimation of Tesla turbine applied in small
scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system. Applied Thermal Engineering, 110, 318-
326.