Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-02-02
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>Ase and rapidity of repairs and small ratio OF
weight and space occupied to the power delivered
on the shaft. Mr.. Tesla maintains that in the tur-
bine which forms the subject of this article he
has carried the steam and gas motor long step
forward toward the maximum attainable eff1cien-
cy both theoretical and mechanical. That these
claims are we'll founded is shown by the fact that
In the plant where Mr. Tesla carried out his ex
periments, he is securing output of 200 HIP.
from single-stage steam turbine with atmos-
pheric exhaust weighing less than pounds per
HIP. which is contained within space measuring
Q feet by 8 feet by feet in height and which
accomplishes these results with thermal fall OF
only $50 BTU, that is about one-third of the to-
tai drop available. Furthermore, considered
from the mechanical standpoint the turbine is
astonishingly simple and economical in construc-
ton, and by the very nature of its construction
should prove to possess such durability and
freedom from wear and breakdown as to place 1t
in these respects far in advance of any type OF
steam or gas motor of the present day
Briefly stated, Tesla's steam motor consists of
a set of fiat steel disks mounted on shaft and
rotating within a casing the steam entering with
high velocity at the periphery of the disks, dow-
ing between them in free spiral paths and finally
escaping through exhaust ports at their center
Instead of developing the energy Of the steam
by pressure reaction. impact on series of
blades vanes, Tesla depends upon the fluid
properties of adhesion and viscosty-the attrac-
ton of the steam to the faces of the disks and
the resistance of its particles to molecular sepa
ration combining in transmitting the velocity en-
ergy of the motive fluid to the plates and the
shaft.
BY reference to the accompanying photographs
it will be that the turbine has a rotor which
in the present consists of 25 fiat steel disks
one one thirty-second of inch IN thickness, of
hardened and carefully tempered steel. The
rotor as assembled is BIZ inches wide on the face.
by Is inches In diameter and when the turbine
is running at its maximum working velocity, the
material is never under tensile stress exceeding
10000 lbs per square inch. The rotor is mounted
in a casing which is provided with two inlet noz
zles for use in running direct and for reversing
Openings are cut out at the central portion OF
the disks and these communicate directly with
exhaust ports formed In the side OF the casing
In operation the steam gas as the case may
be- is directed on the periphery OF the disks
through the nozzles (which may be diverging,
straight or converging) where more or less of Its
expansive energy Is converted into velocity en-
.rgy When the machine is at rest the radia
and tangental forces due to the pressure and velo
.fty OF the steam cause 1t to travel In rather
short curved path toward the central exhaust
opening but as the disks commence to rotate
Il nd their speed increases, the steam travels in
kpiral paths the length OF which increases until
the case or the present turbine the particles
: the fluid complete number of turns around
he shaft before reaching the exhaust, covering
]. the meantime lineal path some IL to 10 feet
IN length. During its progress from inlet 60 ex-
aust, the velocity and pressure Of the steam are