PNGinc Documents

October 18, 2004

The Phoenix Turbine

Real Engine of the 21st Century!

History of the Boundary Layer Turbine

The boundary layer turbine predates the main developer, Nikola Tesla, by a couple of decades. It wasn't until this genius engineer put his time into developing this engine that it became a very functional steam powerplant.

Tesla's first model was built in 1906. Weighing under ten pounds, the steam powered prototype turbine developed 30 horsepower. Later, during his direct combustion experiments in the 1920's, Tesla achieved an unheard of 60 percent efficiency with his bladeless turbine.

While promising, Tesla's engine was never fully developed nor fully used on a wide scale basis.

Back to Our Future

More recently, PNGinc has taken the design a step further to increase efficiencies even more. Due to our aerodynamic knowledge & expertise, we've been able to modify the physical geometry in a way that drastically increases low end torque and overall efficiency.

After results from our lab tests showed improved efficiency (30% more) on the turbine geometry, we designed a combustion cycle especially for disk turbine engines that uses over 99% of the chemical energy in fuel. 

We have combined both of these proprietary technologies into our Phoenix PDT™ Pulse Detonation Turbine. Combined with heat regeneration, we're projecting efficiency & cost equal to piston engines -- but 100 times lower in pollution!