Tesla turbine power generating unit design, build and test

This research explores more efficient ways to produce electricity by altering the design of a turbine in a gas generator.  We propose to design, build and test a compact, prototype power generating unit that uses a “Tesla Turbine” as the prime mover in a Brayton cycle.  A Tesla Turbine is a bladeless centripetal flow turbine patented by Nikola Tesla in 1913.  Boundary layer effects on the turbine discs cause turbine shaft rotation rather than normal impact on the blades in a conventional turbine.  We hypothesize that, as Nikola Tesla stated, the mechanical efficiency of this turbine design will provide superior power to weight ratio in operation.  The structure of the turbine consists of aluminum concentric ring discs contained in an aluminum cylinder.  The Tesla Turbine Power Unit is divided into the compressor, combustor, turbine, and electrical sub-systems.  All systems operate along a master shaft on which the compressor treats air and directs it to the combustion stage where these products move the turbine discs.  The electrical sub-system objective is to start the master shaft rotation at 40,000 RPM to initiate air compression.
The compressed air is directed to the combustion stage.  Once combustion stabilizes the shaft rotation the electrical motor will be switched from start to generation mode.    The final conclusion validates the Tesla Turbine proof of concept and is capable of generating 100 Watts of electrical power from butane.