SpinOffs

The great engineer, Dr. Nikola Tesla, is best known for his work with alternating current (AC) electricity, but, did you know that he patented a bladeless type of turbomachinery in 1913? Called the Tesla Turbine, he developed it while trying to make an engine that was light enough to power his ultimate goal of building a “flying machine”. Tesla-type turbines can also be referred to as multiple-disk, friction, shear-force, or boundary layer turbomachinery.

Wind power generation is rapidly growing worldwide, and with that growth, demand for wind turbine design engineers is also growing.  However, an engineer who has experience designing turbines in most applications, will often have trouble translating their hard-won skills for general turbine design, into the wind turbine design. Why? 

Perhaps the most common type of diffuser in turbomachinery is the conical diffuser. This diffuser is found at the exit of every volute as the geometry transitions to the exit flange. This conical diffuser must be sized appropriately to maximize machine performance across the desired flow range and can have a large impact on the end footprint and performance of the turbomachine.

Merriam-Webster’s definition is, “an agreement, combination, or group (as of companies) formed to undertake an enterprise beyond the resources of any one member.”  The word is Latin, derived from “con” (together) and “sors” (fate).  In commercial industries that rely on technology development, a consortium can be a way to share the cost of research and development among several companies that would benefit from the resulting technology. Consortia can also be commercial in nature.  One example would be the company, Airbus, which was originally a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. It eventually evolved into a standalone company, Airbus, SAS. 

ASME’s Turbo Expo technical conference is THE industry event for bringing together experts from around the world to talk about the latest innovations in turbine technology.  Last year’s event in Seoul, was no exception. Our experts, including Dr. David Japikse, CEO and Founder; Peter Klein, Director of CAM Software and Associate Corporate Fellow, Mark Anderson, Chief Technology Officer, and Eric Krivitzky were there to present three papers.