14), for which they claim it can generate power at a cost comparable to power plants using coal
[14]. Turbine is compact and its only movable part is rotor with shaft. Total operating cost over
the lifetime of the unit is estimated at about 0.12$/kWh, which is, in USA, comparable to other
sources. Production licenses will be available as soon as characterization of the prototype wind
turbine is completed.
In 1999 a multiple disc centrifugal pump was analyzed as a blood pump for use in cardiac
assistance or as a bridge to transplant device. The original configuration consisted of 6 parallel
discs with 0.04 cm spacing between discs. This pump suffered from degradation of flow with
increasing afterload. Next, different configurations were analyzed. They included 4, 5 and 6
discs each with spacing of 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 cm. Flow rates were examined for variations in blood
pressure and for motor speeds of 1250, 1500, and 1750 rpm. Results indicated that a 5 disk
configuration with a 0.4 cm spacing produced optimal flow results with minimal degradation
at higher afterloads. Levels of blood damage was below those of many other centrifugal blood
pump designs [15].
A small scale Tesla turbine prototype has been designed and built at Vanderbilt University
(Tennessee, USA). It is intended for a program, that is focused on providing electrical power
(0-100W) for foot soldiers’ on-board systems with an energy density greater than that of current
batteries [16]. High pressure gas resulting from an exothermic chemical reaction is directed
through a nozzle (or nozzles) and subsequently converted into shaft power via viscous drag
between closely spaced co-rotating discs. Shaft power is converted to electrical power through a
brushless generator.