Reinvented by the Nazis, this Tesla turbine could revolutionize the production of green electricity

A Berlin company has found the plans in its archives, dated 1943, a engine made up of a rotary boiler and a record turbine.The principle of it had been patented in 1919 by Nikola Tesla but its invention was never used in the industry.With a high performance and allowing a large fuel economy, this new type engine was intended to equip the planes and tanks of the Nazi army.Fortunately, the end of the war ended the project.Today, a consortium of 11 companies and 2 German universities has taken up the idea with the objective of putting micro-turbines on the market for decentralized green electricity production.

Udo Hellwig, the boss of the Berlin company La Mont, explains how he found in his archives the plans of a machine made up of a rotary "boiler" and the record turbine invented by Nikola Tesla in 1919.77 years ago, the goal of the Germans was to equip the planes of the Luftwaffe and the tanks of the Wehrmacht with a sober fuel engine.The defeat of the Nazis in 1945, however, did not allow the project to materialize and plunged it into oblivion.

According to UDO Hellwig, this old concept is the basis of the development of a micro-turbine for decentralized green electricity production.

Around the Mont, a consortium of 11 small businesses and 2 German universities was formed to carry out the project.These mini electric power plants could be fueled in energy by the residual heat contained in factories, but also, for example by air extracted from paint cabins (where it is purified by thermal post-combustion), ovensbakery or many other workshops or shops.The fumes of old collective boards whose yield is bad could also do the trick.In fact, wherever residual heat is at a temperature above 100 ° C, it could be used to supply these mini power plants with energy, while conventional fins need much higher temperatures.

This performance is made possible by the use of a small rotary "boiler" placed on the same axis as the turbine and driven by it.The centrifugal force caused by the speed of rotation of around 40.000 laps per minute allows better heat transfer in the evaporator.According to engineers from La Mont, this design allows a volume reduction of 90 % compared to the classic solutions used in thermal power plants.A mini central prototype whose electrical power is 10 kW is currently tested by the company.Its size is such that it enters a 200 -liter barrel.

The business consortium entitled "Chilledturbines" also works on other versions of the concept where energy would be brought by wooden pellets, biomethane or even green hydrogen.In these last 2 cases, small turbines could motorize planes or ships.

The record turbine invented by Nikola Tesla

The turbines used in power plants, whether charcoal, gas or nuclear, and even in aircraft turbo, have a common characteristic: they are fitted with fins.The rotation of the turbine is generated by the pressure exerted by a gas mixture on these fins.

In 1913, Nikola Tesla designed another type of turbine, without fins but equipped with smooth records.The famous inventor (who played a decisive role in the development of the alternating current) had, in fact, had the idea of using as a training force of his turbine, the effect of "boundary layer of fluids", well knownby physicists and engineers.Nozzles send a gas under pressure on the edges of the discs.By an effect of viscosity and adhesion of the "boundary layer" of the gas, it exerts friction on the disc and as it slows down, the gas gives its energy to the discs by describing a movement inSpiral to central exhaust.For this to work, the spacing between the discs must be very low.For example, in a steam model, it is less than half a billimeter.Disks must also be as finely as possible.

This design has a lot of advantages, starting with the manufacturing cost, which with equal power, is very reduced compared to a fin turbine.We understand, in fact, that it is much less expensive to machitate smooth discs than curved fins made with special steels to resist the mechanical stresses they undergo.The size of a Tesla turbine is also much lower than that of the classic model.The disk turbine also requires much fewer interviews and revisions, which reduces not only the cost of exploitation but also the durations of unavailability during maintenance.Finally, according to Tesla's statements, the yield of its turbine would be around 95%, which is significantly higher than that of the best turbines that equip thermal power plants or turbojetters.

So you will no doubt wonder why the invention of Nikola Tesla has never been exploited industrially.Well, simply because at the beginning of the 20th century, the science of materials and the machines used to make the turbine were not as advanced as it is today.Avoid that the records do not twist or veil it was a major difficulty at that time.With current technologies, today's metallurgical knowledge, computer -assisted design techniques and 3D manufacturing possibilities is no longer a problem.

Decentralized green electricity production

The consortium formed around the company La Mont to develop microcentrals made up of a rotating boiler and a record turbine is assisted by experts and scientists from the universities of Chemnitz and Wildau.The project is financially helped by the German Ministry of the Economy thanks to a support program for small innovative companies.

Partners are working on the development of versions for 4 different applications and targets a placing on the market next year.Different models whose power may vary between 10 and 100 kW will be available.They will be able to equip small businesses, shops, institutions and public services or even households.The objective is to establish a whole decentralized green electricity production network at low cost.

"With the electrification of the car fleet, electricity consumption will increase considerably, in particular in rural areas," explains Markus Petersen, one of the program coordinators."The centralized electricity network as we know it will not be able to transport all this electricity.Besides other decentralized electrical productions, our microcentrals will provide a solution to the problem, "he adds, concluding:" It will be a real energy revolution ".

To find out more: https: // fr.Wikipedia.org/wiki/turbine_de_teslahttps: // www.Erneuerbare Energian.de/Ultrakompaktes-KleinkraftWerk-Kombinier-RotationsKssel-sht-Scheibenturbinehttps: // Industryanzeiger.industry.de/technik/effizienz-sprung-bei-kleinkraftwerken/https://industryanzeiger.industry.of/Technik/Mini-Kraftwerk-Liefert-20-Kw/https: // www.Maschinenmarkt.vogel.de/ein-kleinkraftwerk-aus-dem-firmenarchiv-a-978045/https: // www.chilledturbines.com/Zweistofiger Scheiben - Dampferzeuger (Chilledturbines.com)