As an underdeveloped technology, the Tesla pump is being explored for use within aerospace applications to help minimize the loss of expensive fuel, which serves as the motive of this project. Bladed pumps produce a large pressure difference across the blades. This pressure difference can cause cavitation, which results in energy loss through wasted fuel. A Tesla pump uses the boundary layer effect and the viscosity, a fluids resistance to flow, to transmit momentum from the pump’s disks to the fluid. By controlling the space between each disk and the rotational speed of the disk stack, different flow rates and pressure rises can be met. The lack of major pressure differences in a Tesla pump minimizes cavitation conserving fuel in costly aerospace applications. The lack of research on Tesla pumps has lead NASA to desire relationships between flow rate and pressure rise versus disk spacing and rotational speed as mentioned above. NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center would like a Tesla pump that can: produce a 15 gallon a minute flow rate, a pressure rise of 5 psi, and fit through a 4 inch diameter hole to be used on a preexisting tank. The project deliverable includes finding out correct disk spacing and rotational speeds for operation in water and extremely cold fluids. Last, relationships determined for disk spacing and pump rotational speed will be used to further develop a final Tesla pump design.  

We would like to acknowledge the Mechanical Engineering Department at FAMU-FSU, Dr. Shayne McConomy, Dr. Chiang Shih, and Dr. Lance Cooley for advising us and allowing us the opportunity to work on this project, and the Marshall Space Flight Center for sponsoring our design.