Tesla valve

Cross-section of a Tesla valve, displaying its unique cavity design

A Tesla Valve, sometimes called a Tesla's Valvular Conduit,^[1] is a valve allowing for a fluid to flow very preferentially (or entirely) in one direction, but without the moving parts usually found in valves. The principle is that currents flow along different paths in different directions, and that these differences have a disproportionate effect on the resistance of the valve. Named after Nikola Tesla, it was invented in 1916 (U.S. patent 1,329,559; patented 1920). In practice, the idea has seen little development or use since its invention. A similar mechanism is used for mixing on a small scale through the use of a Coanda effect mixer.

Tesla valve offers resistance 10-200 times greater in one direction compared to the other, in which the flow is turbulent. This is based on Tesla's own words though, but there is limited data in the public domain to substantiate this claim of performance. However, a number of experiments have been conducted and offer some performance data. For example, various YouTube users have posted videos regards this device.

See also

• Coanda effect

References

1. Sean Michael Ragan. "The Tesla Valve: One Way Flow With No Moving Parts". 2012.

• "Simulation and Optimization of Tesla Valves", T-Q Truong and N-T Nguyen, Nanotech 2003 Vol. 1 Technical Proceedings of the 2003 Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 1, ISBN 0-9728422-0-9
• Patent #1,329,559 Nikola Tesla Original Patent