How did a past inventor help generate efficient compressed air products for EXAIR? In the early 20th century, Henri Coanda who was a Romanian aeronautical engineer that built an experimental Coanda-1910 airplane. There are some debates if the airplane actually flew, but he invented a curved surface for a wing to generate a Coanda effect. The Coanda effect is the “tendency of a fluid jet to stay attached to a convex surface”1. Thus, a moving stream of fluid will follow the curvature of the surface rather than continuing to travel in a straight line. The Wright Brothers who flew the first airplane in the state where EXAIR is located, Ohio, used the Coanda effect to create lift. With a curved profile, the air will adhere to the surface, causing a low pressure which makes the airplane fly.
EXAIR uses this Coanda profile to make some of our Intelligent Compressed Air Products™. Like the airplane wing, our curved surface will also create a low pressure. How does this help? Well, high pressure will always travel to low pressure. Instead of lift, we use the low air pressure to entrain ambient air. This ratio is what we call the amplification ratio. The higher the amplification ratio, the higher the efficiency for a blowing device. Two main compressed air products that EXAIR manufactures use this type of profile; Air Knives and Air Amplifiers. I will cover both below.
The Air Knives that use the Coanda profile blows air along the length of the knife at a 90o angle from the exit. We offer two types; the Standard Air Knife and the Full Flow Air Knife. The Standard Air Knives are made in Aluminum or Stainless Steel with blowing widths up to 48” (1219mm). The inlet ports are at each end; so, the overall length is 1” (25mm) longer. The Full Flow Air Knives have the port or ports on the back. The air blows out the entire length of the air knife. The maximum length is 36” (914mm).
Both types of air knives use the Coanda profile to generate a low pressure as the air exits the gap and “hugs” the curve (reference photo above). This low pressure draws ambient air into the air stream at a 30:1 amplification ratio for both the Standard Air Knife and Full Flow Air Knife. So, for every one part of compressed air, we entrain 30 parts of ambient air. Besides efficiency, it also adds mass to the air stream for a hard-hitting force. With this engineered profile, the air stream is laminar which gives a consistent force across the entire length and reduces noise levels. Not only will they save you money, but they are also OSHA safe.
The Air Amplifiers use the Coanda profile in a circular form to pull in dramatic amounts of free surrounding air. The Coanda effect is able to generate a low pressure to blow air for cooling, cleaning or removing smoke and debris efficiently and quietly. The Air Knives above blow a flat stream of air while the Air Amplifiers will blow a conical air stream. They can reach amplification ratios up to 25:1. The Super Air Amplifiers use a patented shim to increase efficiency.
Unlike fans, they blow a laminar air stream for quick cooling. They do not have any moving parts or motors to wear, so they are very quiet. EXAIR manufactures five different sizes from ¾” (19mm) to 8” (203mm). The Adjustable Air Amplifiers have a plug that can be adjusted to control the blowing force from a breeze to a blast. For cleaning surfaces, this is a nice feature to “dial” in to exactly what you need. We also manufacture five different sizes in aluminum and stainless steel ranging from ¾” (19mm) to 4” (102mm). Both Air Amplifiers can be attached to ducts to remove debris, heat or smoke from the area.
Utilizing the Coanda effect allows for massive compressed air savings. Whether it is a flat or round air stream, EXAIR can do this with high amplification ratios. If you would like to discuss further how our Air Knives or Air Amplifiers can help you in your applications, please contact us. An Application Engineer will be happy to help you. History has shown us a way to increase efficiency when using compressed air. And you can take advantage of it with the Coanda profile. Thank you Mr. Henri Coanda.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
1note – Wikipedia – Coanda effect