Giovanni Battista Venturi was an Italian physicist that was born in Bibbiano, Italy on March 15, 1746.  He died at the age of 76 on April 24, 1822.  During his early life, Giovanni was ordained as a priest at the age of 23; and, he became a professor of geometry and philosophy at the University of Modena at the age of 28.    He moved to Paris France where he worked with other scholars to expand his knowledge of physics and chemistry.  In 1797, he wrote a dissertation on the now famous “Venturi effect”.  However, an actual device was never created or applied until 1888 where Clemens Herschel was awarded the patent for the first Venturi tube.

The Venturi effect is a decrease in fluid pressure when fluid flows through a constricted area of a pipe.  In other words, as the diameter becomes smaller, the fluid velocity becomes faster.  This increase in velocity will create a lower pressure just past the constricted area.  when designed correctly, you can create a strong vacuum or a large negative pressure.

The EXAIR E-Vac^® Vacuum Generators use this phenomenon founded by Giovanni Venturi by using compressed air as the fluid.  This type of Venturi tube restricts the internal area to generate a fast velocity through the body creating a vacuum pressure for suction.  EXAIR offers three types of Venturi tubes; low vacuum, high vacuum and adjustable.  The high vacuum generators can create a vacuum level as high as 27” Hg (71 KPa).  The Adjustable E-Vacs can alter the internal air velocities by turning the body and getting different vacuum pressures.  Without any moving parts or electric motors to wear, the EXAIR E-Vacs are a simple design that is very durable, effective and long-lasting.  A great product for applications like pick and place, clamping, lifting and vacuum forming,

The Venturi effect was discovered in 1797, brought into existence in 1888, and is still used in vacuum applications to this very day.  If you have an application where a Venturi tube could help you, please contact an Application Engineer.  We will be happy to assist you.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photo: Venturi Tube with labels by ComputerGeezer an Geof.  GNU Free Documentation License