How to build a Schauberger Repulsine:

Before we begin with construction of the Repulsine, this is what can happen if careful research and proper assembly, along with using quality materials for construction is not followed and adhered to:

One: the Repulsine will shred its upper power turbine! That turbine spins at a very high rpm and can, if formed from cast metal, shatter without warning.
Two: the internal thermal zone separator (wavy discs) and mechanical fluid work transmitter can shatter, as it is hollow (I will explain) and flexible and is also not capable of withstanding high centrifugal stress do to its perforated construction and wavy design. It generally will shatter first.
Three: the casing of the Repulsine is formed of copper in one device (although steel can be used) as this is for heat conduction. Copper is a brittle metal under repeated stress and can crack easily. Once again, shards will be expelled onto any unprepared researcher.
Four: it is capable of high temperature’s (I will explain). It can scorch and burn its surroundings or a careless researcher. That temperature can easily reach 300 to 500 degrees F.
Five: it can explode if its internal vortex is suddenly quenched, venting super heated air onto any nearby observers.
Six: it must be grounded. It is best operated over hot pavement (I will explain). There is no simple way to describe its power level. It is cyclic and similar to a child’s top being spun faster and faster. It can, by a very strong suction force (as it sits in the middle of a much larger external vortex) be wrenched from the ground.
Seven: it can effect the external environment. It is highly recommended any researcher using it should precede to an area with no air or automobile traffic.
Eight: it can set fire to any dry brush present. It must be operated in a rock quarry or concrete industrial area for maximum fire safety with a fire extinguisher standing by.
Nine: it is difficult to gain the approval of a mechanical engineer with an unproved technology; however, he or she can still verify that every precaution has been taken. The vessel is subject to high internal winds approaching 100 to 300 mph; never underestimate the harm that wind can do. That wind can amount to several static pounds pressure per square inch. It is the escaping wind that is most dangerous.
Ten: as air is ionized around the Repulsine, it can produce dangerous electrical phenomena. That is due to dust particle charging. Anytime air passes a chamber that is not grounded, at high speed it can induce charged particles! Be prepared for static electric build up if operating in a dry environment. See below for further information regarding safety issues.

A small Repulsine can easily produce 10 to 25 horsepower; a large one, in the ten to twenty foot diameter ranges, can produce well into the thousands of horsepower. This is due to its power concentrating effect. It is in a category of windmills known as dynamic flow enhancers. That is to say its passive wind flow ratting is small and no more then any similar Darrius or Savonious type. However, once the work function has begun, it can concentrate external flow from 2 times, up to 10 times. That is, it will generate the equivalent power level of a machine ten times its own size. This is similar to windmills of the “diffusion cone†type. That refers specifically to a windmill that has a large external diffuser or cone that assists in flow pressure concentration allowing even a small turbine to generate far more then its diameter is capable of without the added diffusion cone to create a down wind low pressure pocket.

The Repulsine consists of a few major parts. It has a top cone or chimney that, like the rest of the shell, must be constructed of heat conductive metal. Viktor wanted this top cone to be shaped like an elongated snail-shell. This is so external wind, in the form of a dust-devil, can enter the cone and assist the upper drive turbine’s rotation. I have found it best to use materials similar to the steel chimney pipes found in wood stove connection joints (a light steel sheet formed into a cone and riveted so that there is no turbulence on the inside of this upper chimney cone). That is the simplest part to fabricate. The taller it is; the better. It should have at least twice to five times the height of the primary plenum chamber; its upper outlet diameter is still debatable. I recommend looking at Schauberger’s water turbine arms and using that as a conical ratio. If a small aperture overly restricts the upper chimney, the flow will quench. If an oversized exit hole is used, the flow will receive too much horizontal ground wind turbulence backflow. The dynamics problem of the horizontal flow as it interferes with the vertical convection flow produced cannot be underestimated. That is the bane of all wind generator engineers who have attempted to produce energy by concentrating convection flow. That is, the horizontal wind will antagonize your Repulsine unless it has its upper cone intake aperture or snail-shell mouth directly pointed into the apparent horizontal wind. Wind is variable; it can change direction without warning, so keeping the upper snail-shell pointed can be a frustrating chore. You cannot place a guidance fin to keep the snail-shell mouth pointed, since that will break up the induced flow of the external dust-devil vortex.

Viktor simply ignored the snail-shell all together and only punched a few inlet and outlet holes in a simple conic upper chimney shell. That is not to say it is un-important. He simply could not get the correct shape fabricated. The upper chimney focuses the exhaust vortex leaving the Repulsine drive turbine. Now you have the fabrication of the upper drive turbine. That turbine must be mounted on a shaft (if using a 22-inch unit) capable of at least 10 horsepower minimal load. Shafts of this type are found on all small engines in that horsepower range. One-inch diameter shafts will ensure maximum safety. Obviously, the bearing must be of a reliable type. I recommend from personal experience the bearings used in racing go-carts wheel shafts. They have a 3-bolt mounting cup, and are very reliable.

The upper plate can be found on old centrifugal blowers. Yes, Schauberger’s design used multiple curves, but that is not set in stone. The cooling fins found on a two-cycle motor or lawn mower head can be substituted in a pinch. The plate from the centrifugal blower of a ruined engine can be used for the exhaust drive turbine. The air coming out is cyclonic so the plate is used in a reversed fin rotation. That is fairly obvious to any one building one...this plate cannot be constructed from plastics. It will melt! I realize plastic is safer and easier to fabricate however it is also worthless in a Repulsine exhaust turbine. Next, you require the shell. That shell is fabricated from a 22-inch diameter Barbecue Kettle lid piece. It has a flat region that is cut out for the upper exhaust hole. The exact plenum exhaust hole size on a unit is critical. Once again, if it is too large, the shell heat won’t build to a high temperature. Too small, and it will vent waste centrifugal air poorly and shut down the unit. Use Viktor’s photos. My ideal exhaust hole is 12 inches in diameter with a 22-inch plenum shell. I am still experimenting on the best diameter exhaust turbine.

The Repulsine has need of two active parts; the upper exhaust turbine (or reversed centrifuge blower plate) and the inner wavy discs (that use the mechanical work from the upper turbine). Theses discs are not easy to fabricate. The best material I can find is used in fireplace screening and perforated. You must locate a source of perforated steel. That perforation is to allow airflow through the wavy discs, which also prevents back conduction of heat from the outer shell or rim region (I will explain). It will be found that Hammel, used a perforated metal cone on his devices. That is the type of shell you are after. Perforating a steel sheet of that thickness with thousands of holes is difficult and imprecise. If you place too many perforations in one area, the disc may shatter!

Why do it at all? Recall that I spoke of the H-R tube. Those wavy discs serve to conduct vortex strands and transmit mechanical energy to the internal plenum chamber vortex from the upper exhaust turbine. They cannot be underestimated. They are the Repulsine...Think of the drive exhaust turbine as a simple windmill. Updrafts and convection currents power it. It is also driven off of any horizontal flow that is swirled into the upper chimney shell snail shell mouth. That is all it does! It uses waste exhaust to spin that is given maximum pressure advantage from the suction above it in the upper chimney shell vortex. There are three vortexes at work here!

One, is the external shell heat vortex or outer dust-devil,
Two, is the vortex in the upper snail shaped chimney shell,
Three, is the mechanical work vortex inside the “Repulsine†plenum or H-R tube vortex,

The novice experimenter should examine carefully the work done by vortex Wind Engineers on the web. The entire upper part of the unit is already in use at many wind turbine-generating sites! Assuming you have successfully fabricated the exhaust turbine and mounted it in a typical tri-arm mount, flush with your plenum shell, and mounted the two opposed perforated wavy discs on the long drive shaft, you now require a base shell. This shell must be as strong or stronger then the upper shell. It can be flat and still function. If it is flat steel it must be reinforced. It is always best to use shaped steel that is self-integrated structurally due to its own 3-dimensional form. For example, it can also have a wave ring shape. That is far more rigid then a simple flat piece. That is yet another reason the wavy discs are curved so they are rigid when the Repulsine tilts or lifts.

This is then bolted and sealed to the upper shell. This is critical. The outer rim is subject to great pressure and heat. The bottom hole is smaller then the exhaust hole, however the relative surface area is comparable. This is because a great deal of the upper exhaust turbine plate is sealed with only a small exit region open at its circumference. The bottom shaft bearing can be tri-arm mounted as well. These hole-sizes are critical. If the bottom axle area intake hole is too small, it will not take in enough air! The exact diameter, as compared to the upper exhaust hole is still a matter of experimentation. It is between 4 and 6 inches in diameter. In other words, its diameter in surface area approximates the exhaust outlet surface area. The entire assembly is best placed on yet another Barbecue Kettle piece - the bottom hemisphere. In this use, it is placed round side up (that is its rim on the ground). Several metal posts now go to your bottom plenum. The plenum or H-R work chamber is mounted 6 to 12 inches above the inverted kettle hemisphere. Those posts will later have metal fins on them, which will be twisted to guide air into the single intake hole, placed concentric with the drive shaft.

Now, with all in place, you can do a first spin test. Instead of an attached motor, you can use the pressure exhaust of a large tank-type vacuum cleaner. It requires precise aim. Place the hose near the exhaust turbine and push air against the curved blades the same direction the air is meant to leave the plenum chamber. This is a simple reaction effect. The snail-shell hole is more then large enough for you to place the start-up air jet. Recall that model pulsejets were actually started with a bicycle pump. Now your unit is spinning! What happens next? Usually, very little will happen. It will spin of course, but, until the exact exhaust ratio and intake ratio is found, you can expect no miracles. The bearing races must be low-friction units. If you do it correctly, the unit will begin to heat up at its plenum shell circumference. Why (?) - because the internal wavy perforated discs and compressions on the shell rim are spinning air centrifugally. That can be seen directly by touching the top of any large-tank vacuum cleaner with a metal flange head. In fact all centrifugal air compressors or high pressure fans heat in this manner. Inside the plenum, the air is being separated into a center, or axle region, cold-zone and outer rim region hot-zone. Mechanical work from the upper exhaust disc is being used to separate these temperature regions. This effect is no different than is seen on the H-R tube! The only difference is that air is being spun on the unit by frictional interaction with the wavy disc set. In the H-R tube, it is from the mechanical energy, released as compressed air, and is swirled into a vortex tube. The exact same thermal separation occurs. The inner region is cold, and outer region is hot. That heat now contributes to a rising updraft vortex about the Repulsine. Recall in a calorimeter experiment, paddles are spun to heat water in a closed shell . One experiment is to then spray water at various temperatures into the shell. If it is done properly, it will assist in imploding the center cold air mass and greatly increasing the RPM. of the turbine. This is a science experiment of a lifetime.

Why does it work? As the work being done on the Repulsine internal plenum increases from the exhaust turbine drive shaft, the steel shell reaches a critical temperature level. At that point the rim air approaches several hundred degrees. The wavy discs prevent heat from easily moving from the rim to the center (that is one reason they are perforated and cannot be solid). The plenum will begin to alternately heat and cool as new air is drawn in at its base. If its core air trapped in between the wavy discs is cooled, the plenum velocity will increase. If it is heated by intake air, the velocity will slow. This effect is resonant and typical of the Repulsine operation. It is very hard to explain. Viktor claims, that any time you allow the core air of his Repulsine to heat and expand, it pulls the internal vortex wider apart! Next, as you intake cooler air, it snaps back together again. This is a phenomenon of thermo-mechanical resonance. Tesla coils use the very same principle.

The point is that your plenum will be driven off of induced external updrafts (as if a campfire) and off of a resonance caused by changes in the core vortex temperature! That is to say, the plenum chamber is like a child’s top. Any temperature change will cause the internal vortex (a vertical axis vortex centered about the drive axle) to expand and contract. The temperature changes must work in resonant fashion. Think of the child’s top being spun faster and faster, as they plunge its push rod up and down. This resonant expanding and contracting vortex bounces off the wavy rings much as ball bounces on a floor. Each time a little more energy is added. It is like stretching and contracting a rubber band around your fingers. When thermal mechanical vortex resonance is achieved, the implosion motor takes off. This is not an out-dated centrifugal air compressor. It is a chamber where any intake air is being converted into rotary motion. As the air vortex enlarges, it strikes the rim and cools. This causes it to bounce and return like a wave, to the center of the chamber (much like an echo reflecting off a hard surface). This compresses the center cold air and heats it, causing the wave front to once more expand.

That is why the wavy perforated discs are so important. They guide this echoing vortex band as it bounces from the rim to center and back again. To see what Schauberger saw, go to a circular water bath or tank (it must be a perfect circle). Put a Styrofoam disc at its center with a stick attached. Start to resonantly plunge the disk up and down. If you time it right, the wave crest will work with your plunges in harmony, as it bounces off the tank’s wall. This is exactly why those disks are wavy and perforated. They allow the vortex bounces to build up energy. Yes, you can argue that it wastes power. Actually it does not. The heat leaving the rim feeds back into the exhaust turbine updraft. You are amplifying this echo effect. Now the skeptic will begin to squirm in their seat. What good is this resonance effect? Sure, a Tesla coil makes a big spark, but that uses up electrical power even at high Q.

What makes a two-cycle motorcycle tail pipe exhaust expansion chamber work? Echo! That is correct. The principle that helps back pressure a two-cycle motorcycle engine is the exact same principle that feeds back energy in a Schauberger Repulsine implosion motor. It makes no difference. We can get mechanical work either way! A Sterling engine obtains mechanical work on both its cold cycle and hot cycle! We now have two defined reservoirs; a cold rim reservoir and a hot central intake reservoir. These reservoirs are maintained by external wind and sunlight. This is not a guess; it is a fact! A Stirling engine uses a displacer to shuttle an air mass between a hot and cold reservoir! Go to the fine Japanese Stirling engine pages found all over the web and you will soon understand this principle.

In the Repulsine, it is accomplished by the natural vortex echo inside of the chamber. This echo builds up our RPM. That is why the wavy discs are perforated. They must help spin the vortex but never stop its wave front echo. Think of that as a natural air displacer. Striking the rim cools the vortex and reaching the center heats it. The center bottom is hot from intake air ramming. Think of it this way before you stop reading this material. The echo bounce places our vortex over the center and then the rim region. That takes the place of the Stirling engine displacer. The vortex acts like a flywheel that stores the bounce energy. In effect, it is a simple Stirling engine hybrid that uses the expanding and contracting vortex as both a piston and a displacer, at the same time.

This is not difficult to understand. The Schauberger Repulsine is a new class of Stirling, atmospheric-feedback, hot-air motor. Schauberger’s genius removed the complex piston and displacer. They are replaced by a bouncing and expanding vortex and contracting vortex ring. If the reader takes away nothing more about the “Repulsineâ€, consider the following. IT is not a centrifugal air compressor. It is a new class of Stirling hot air engine, that converts a captive vortex into a piston and displacer that therefore shuttles between a hot center region, and a cold outer shell. This vortex also forms the Stirling Engine hybrid’s flywheel. In one simple gesture, Viktor removed the flywheel - the displacer and the piston - of a Stirling hot air engine - its closest thermo-mechanical cousin. By combining all of these elements, he simplified the Stirling engine, and, allowed it to directly feed back energy to an updraft. In other words, its own waste heat assists in increasing a natural external flow. No Stirling engine does that!

A final purpose of the wavy internal discs is to help "bounce" the vortex. It is similar to the 90-degree phase drive rod that activates the displacer. It forces the vortex wall back out to the rim. I realize that I said the rim is hot and it is. That is because it is constantly relieving itself of heat from the internal bouncing vortex. It is also cooled by the swirling external vortex. Without that, it is no longer a useful reservoir. In effect we have discovered a dynamic feedback Stirling Engine suited to extracting energy from a stationary external tornadic convection cell. This is not free energy...but I feel it is neglected physics. Only time and a little faith in Schauberger’s genius and commitment to relieving the suffering of mankind will tell.

In the “Phillips Technical Review Notes†we found references to an Air Core Betatron containing only a few kilograms of active magnetic flux material. That is to say the Phillips engineers had found a way to avoid the entire heavy iron superstructure used on a Betatron. It relied instead, like a Tesla coil, on resonance in heavy cables. To add, therefore to the list of things to avoid when constructing a Repulsine, I must now in all fairness add the Air Core Betatron effect. This means very simply, your Repulsine is capable of hard X-ray production from an internal current imploded with the thermo-mechanical rim resonance vortex bounce. To put it simply; the Repulsine at full resonance is a radiation source. It is possible that 50 thousand to 10 million electron volt-level radiation by-products, in the form of hard X-rays, will be present during operation. Any time you contract a charged electron cloud so that its magnetic field is cut, you can, and will accelerate electrons in the defined nature of a Betatron Particle Accelerator! It can and will emit high-energy particle radiation of the class known as High Energy Electrons and Hard X-rays. The Phillips’ Air Core Betatron proves a large ferromagnetic induction mass is not required for electron volt energy levels up to 9 MEV. Prolonged X-ray exposure is a certified tissue destroying process. For those “would’be†Nuclear Physicists out there, any doubts that the Repulsine is capable of Betatron particle acceleration will be quashed after reading about the “Phillips T.R. papers on their 9 MEV “Air Core Betatronâ€â€.

The final piece of the puzzle; The Repulsine's rim is resonantly cooled by thermally induced downdraft feedback, as the internal plenum flow expands for its re-coil or implosion echo. It is a surface effect. Hot internal centrifugal air induces a cold downdraft pulse that is in effect the capacitive analogy to our thermo-mechanical vortex resonance, taking place in the unit. Hot always attracts cold ...remember that! The Repulsine is unpredictable and dangerous, and, in an evacuated condition, is capable of Hard X-ray production. It is NOT a toy. It is best left in the hands of certified engineers and physicists!