Performance Investigation of a Bladeless Air Compressor Using Numerical Simulation

Abstract In recent years, the demand for lightweight, compact, cost-effective, and low-noise-emission machines has increased significantly. Tesla or bladeless machines can meet the current market’s demands, especially at a small scale. This article examines Tesla compressor performance numerically, which is influenced by a number of factors related to rotor and stator design. This study examines multiple aspects of Tesla’s compressor in order to improve its overall performance, including the rotor, stator impact, and statorless or volute casing. An innovative bladeless rotor has been independently studied and optimized based on the Ekman number and diameter ratio. The disk gap and radius ratio are crucial to the performance of bladeless rotors. The rotor-only analysis determined an isentropic efficiency of 95%, which is in line with expectations. An optimized rotor is initially simulated with a stator (vane diffuser) and subsequently with a volute casing. In the diffuser case, it has been numerically demonstrated that bladeless compressors can achieve an overall efficiency up to 53%. It should be noted, however, that compressor performance depends on the number of diffuser vanes and the stator-rotor interaction. With an increase in diffuser vanes, overall performance may be affected by a significant increase in frictional losses and stator-rotor interaction. In order to improve performance, the volute casing is examined, which reveals that efficiency is improved by 3%–5% as compared to the best-vaned diffuser case. Even if the final choice of the designer will depend on the performance requirements and level of complexity acceptable for the specific application, this study demonstrates that Tesla compressor with volute, i.e. statorless, overperform any vaned diffuser configuration both in terms of efficiency and pressure ratio.

In recent years, the demand for lightweight, compact, cost-effective, and low-noise emission machines has increased significantly. Tesla or bladeless machines can meet the current market’s demands, especially at a small scale. This article examines Tesla compressor performance numerically, which is influenced by a number of factors related to rotor and stator design. This study examines multiple aspects of Tesla’s compressor in order to improve its overall performance, including the rotor, stator impact, and statorless or volute casing. An innovative bladeless rotor has been independently studied and optimized based on the Ekman number and diameter ratio. The disk gap and radius ratio are crucial to the performance of bladeless rotors. The rotor-only analysis determined an isentropic efficiency of 95%, which is in line with expectations. An optimized rotor is initially simulated with a stator (vane diffuser) and subsequently with a volute casing. In the diffuser case, it has been numerically demonstrated that bladeless compressors can achieve an overall efficiency up to 53%. It should be noted, however, that compressor performance depends on the number of diffuser vanes and the stator-rotor interaction. With an increase in diffuser vanes, overall performance may be affected by a significant increase in frictional losses and stator rotor interaction. In order to improve performance, the volute casing is examined, which reveals that efficiency is improved by 3%–5% as compared to the best-vaned diffuser case. Even if the final choice of the designer will depend on the performance requirements and level of complexity acceptable for the specific application, this study demonstrates that Tesla compressor with volute, i.e. statorless, overperform any vaned diffuser configuration both in terms of efficiency and pressure ratio.