Blade component of a micro turbine
“This turbine blade, when paired with a high-speed digitally controlled micro-motor and scaled in massive parallel arrays, has the potential to move as much or more air than conventional turbines — with higher pressure and unprecedented efficiency.”
Overview
Traditional macro-scale turbines and fans are bound by the “fan curve” — you can achieve high pressure at low flow, or high flow at low pressure, but not both at once. Their performance is also limited by inertia: large fan blades take time to spin up or slow down, restricting responsiveness.
Our Roll-to-Roll MEMS approach overcomes both limitations. Each micro-blower is digitally controlled and nearly instantaneous in response, with no heavy rotating mass. And because each unit is designed to deliver maximum pressure, many units can be combined in parallel to scale up flow rate without sacrificing pressure. This massively parallel architecture delivers both high pressure and high flow rate in a smaller footprint, effectively breaking free of the fan curve’s constraints.
Concept & Design Expectations
- 10mm x 10mm x 2mm – scale
- 10,000 RPM
- Structural integrity an max RPM
- Blade geometry will need optimization
Working Proof: Micro Turbine Blade Spin Test
This rig magnetically couples a micro-turbine blade to a controllable motor so we can evaluate rotational behavior across different RPM. Shot on our high-speed camera and slowed for clarity, the video confirms:
- movement and controllable speed
- geometric/runout stability
- structural integrity over time
- sustained operation (longevity)
- basic functional airflow
Next: We iterate the blade design to maximize airflow (volume) and pressure.
High-speed footage, slowed to expose blade motion and stability.