Tag: people of interest

Henri Coanda: Founder of The Coanda Effect (1886-1972)

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment

EXAIR uses the Coanda effect in many of our products. Henri Coanda is an important figure in the world of fluid dynamics and aerodynamics.

Henri Coanda was a prominent Romanian Inventor and aerodynamics pioneer is known for the creation of the Coanda-1910 experimental plane as well as discovering the Coanda effect. On June 7, 1886 Henri was born in Bucharest Romania to General Constantin Coanda and Aida Danet. In 1899 Henri’s father who desired him to have a military career had him transfer to a Military High School for additional years of schooling, where he graduated with the rank of Sergeant Major. Continuing his studies, he went on to technical school back in Bucharest for Artillery, Military, and Naval Engineering. In 1904 he was sent to an artillery regiment in Germany where he would enroll in Technische Hochshule. Henri did not give up on studying and in 1907 went to Montefiore Institute in Liege, Belgium, where he met Gianni Caproni.

In 1910 Henri and Gianni began a partnership to construct an experimental aircraft which was later called the Coanda-1910. The Coanda-1910 was unlike any other aircraft of its time as it had no propeller; instead it sported an oddly shaped front end with built-in rotary blades arranged in a swirl pattern. These blades were driven by an internal turbine screw that would suck air in through the turbine while exhausting the gases out of the rear, propelling the plane forward. This initial jet engine was quite impressive for the time, but sadly nobody believed it would ever fly and is believed that it never did achieve flight. Coanda is not credited with the invention of the jet engine, but his technology spurred the future of aviation into the future.

During World War 2 Henri spent his time developing the turbo-propeller drive system from his 1910 Biplane. After World War 2 had ended Henri began furthering his research on the Coanda Effect which would become the basis for several investigations into entrained and augmented flow of fluids. Later on in 1969 Henri would spend the last of his days in Romania serving as Director of the Institute for Scientific and Technical Creation. Coanda died on November 25, 1972 in his home town of Bucharest.

Here at EXAIR we have taken Henri Coanda’s, Coanda Effect and applied it to a number of our products to help amplify total airflow and save on compressed air.  The most notable product lines are our Air Amplifiers, Air Nozzles, and Air Knives – which are some of the most efficient products of their kind. These products can help lower your compressed air demand. 

If you have any questions about compressed air systems or want more information on any of EXAIR’s products, give us a call, we have a team of Application Engineers ready to answer your questions and recommend a solution for your applications.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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People of Interest: Daniel Bernoulli

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

Daniel Bernoulli

Whenever there is a discussion about fluid dynamics, Bernoulli’s equation generally comes up. This equation is unique as it relates flow energy with kinetic energy and potential energy. The formula was mainly linked to non-compressible fluids, but under certain conditions, it can be significant for gas flows as well. My colleague, Tyler Daniel, wrote a blog about the life of Daniel Bernoulli (you can read it HERE). I would like to discuss how he developed the Bernoulli’s equation and how EXAIR uses it to maximize efficiency within your compressed air system.

In 1723, at the age of 23, Daniel moved to Venice, Italy to learn medicine. But, in his heart, he was devoted to mathematics. He started to do some experiments with fluid mechanics where he would measure water flow out of a tank. In his trials, he noticed that when the height of the water in the tank was higher, the water would flow out faster. This relationship between pressure as compared to flow and velocity came to be known as Bernoulli’s principle. “In fluid dynamics, Bernoulli’s principle states that an increase in the speed of fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in static pressure or a decrease in the fluids potential energy”1. Thus, the beginning of Bernoulli’s equation.

Bernoulli realized that the sum of kinetic energy, potential energy, and flow energy is a constant during steady flow. He wrote the equation like this:

Equation 1:

Bernoulli’s Equation

Not to get too technical, but you can see the relationship between the velocity squared and the pressure from the equation above. Being that this relationship is a constant along the streamline; when the velocity increases; the pressure has to come down. An example of this is an airplane wing. When the air velocity increases over the top of the wing, the pressure becomes less. Thus, lift is created and the airplane flies.

With equations, there may be limitations. For Bernoulli’s equation, we have to keep in mind that it was initially developed for liquids. And in fluid dynamics, gas like air is also considered to be a fluid. So, if compressed air is within these guidelines, we can relate to the Bernoulli’s principle.

  1. Steady Flow: Since the values are measured along a streamline, we have to make sure that the flow is steady. Reynold’s number is a value to decide laminar and turbulent flow. Laminar flows give smooth velocity lines to make measurements.
  2. Negligible viscous effects: As fluid moves through tubes and pipes, the walls will have friction or a resistance to flow. The surface finish has to be smooth enough; so that, the viscous effects is very small.
  3. No Shafts or blades: Things like fan blades, pumps, and turbines will add energy to the fluid. This will cause turbulent flows and disruptions along the velocity streamline. In order to measure energy points for Bernoulli’s equation, it has to be distant from the machine.
  4. Compressible Flows: With non-compressible fluids, the density is constant. With compressed air, the density changes with pressure and temperature. But, as long as the velocity is below Mach 0.3, the density difference is relatively low and can be used.
  5. Heat Transfer: The ideal gas law shows that temperature will affect the gas density. Since the temperature is measured in absolute conditions, a significant temperature change in heat or cold will be needed to affect the density.
  6. Flow along a streamline: Things like rotational flows or vortices as seen inside Vortex Tubes create an issue in finding an area of measurement within a particle stream of fluid.

Super Air Knife has 40:1 Amplification Ratio

Since we know the criteria to apply Bernoulli’s equation with compressed air, let’s look at an EXAIR Super Air Knife. Blowing compressed air to cool, clean, and dry, EXAIR can do it very efficiently as we use the Bernoulli’s principle to entrain the surrounding air. Following the guidelines above, the Super Air Knife has laminar flow, no viscous effects, no blades or shafts, velocities below Mach 0.3, and linear flow streams. Remember from the equation above, as the velocity increases, the pressure has to decrease. Since high-velocity air exits the opening of a Super Air Knife, a low-pressure area will be created at the exit. We engineer the Super Air Knife to maximize this phenomenon to give an amplification ratio of 40:1. So, for every 1 part of compressed air, the Super Air Knife will bring into the air streamline 40 parts of ambient “free” air. This makes the Super Air Knife one of the most efficient blowing devices on the market. What does that mean for you? It will save you much money by using less compressed air in your pneumatic application.

We use this same principle for other products like the Air Amplifiers, Air Nozzles, and Gen4 Static Eliminators. Daniel Bernoulli was able to find a relationship between velocities and pressures, and EXAIR was able to utilize this to create efficient, safe, and effective compressed air products. To find out how you can use this advantage to save compressed air in your processes, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. We will be happy to help you.

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

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli%27s_principle

People of Interest: Daniel Bernoulli (2/8/1700-3/17/1782)

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

Daniel BernoulliDaniel Bernoulli was born in the Netherlands in February of 1700. Mathematics was in his bloodline as the son of renowned Swiss mathematician, Johann Bernoulli. He and Johann’s brother, Jakob, both took jobs as professors at a university in Basel, Switzerland. Fittingly, Johann taught Daniel mathematics at a very young age. Daniel Bernoulli spent some time studying a variety of topics including philosophy, logic, and medicine. Daniel obtained his Bachelor’s Degree at the age of just 15, earning his Master’s Degree just one year later.

Daniel was well-known and was highly regarded among scholars throughout Europe. After spending some time teaching Botany, he switched to physiology topics in 1743. This continued for several years when in 1750 he was appointed to the chair of physics where he taught at Basel for 26 years. During this time, he also received a total of 10 grand prizes from the Paris Academy of Sciences for work he completed in astronomy, a variety of nautical topics, and magnetism.

Daniel is most commonly known for his work in developing what is now called Bernoulli’s Principle, which discusses the relationship between fluid speed and pressure. An increase in the speed of a fluid will occur simultaneously with a decrease in the fluid’s pressure or potential energy.

Entrainment
EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products such as (left to right) the Air Wipe, Super Air Knife, Super Air Nozzle, and Air Amplifier are engineered to entrain enormous amounts of air from the surrounding environment.

The air entrainment properties of some of EXAIR’s Intelligent Compressed Air Products can be explained through Bernoulli’s Principle. As high-velocity air exits the nozzle of a Super Air Knife, for example, a low-pressure area is created that speeds up and draws in ambient air at an astonishing rate of 40:1. The same also occurs with the Super Air Amplifiers, Adjustable Air Amplifiers, and Air Nozzles. To find out how you can utilize this advantage to save compressed air in your processes, give us a call. An Application Engineer will be happy to help assist you in determining the most suitable products for your application.

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

 

People of Interest: Henri Coanda June 7, 1886 – November 25, 1972

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

Henri Coanda was born in Bucharest, Romania on June 7 1886 in a large family with five brothers and two sisters. His father, Constantin M. Coanda, was a decorated Romanian soldier and following in his footsteps he also enlisted in the military. He finished his military education with high honors, but his keen interest in flying and his desire to achieve this sent him down a much different path.

Coanda attended a technical university in Germany and also attended the Superior Aeronautical School in Paris where he graduated at the top of his class with the highest of honors. In less than a year, he had partnered with Gianni Caproni, another known aviator, to construct what was called the Coanda-1910. This aircraft was displayed in Paris at the Second International Aeronautical Exhibition. But, unlike other planes of this time, Coanda’s aircraft did not have a propeller. The plane had an oddly shaped front with built-in rotary blades arranged in a swirling pattern. It was driven by an internal turbine screw that would suck air in through the turbine while the exhausting gases exited from the rear, driving the plane forward by propulsion.

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As impressive as this jet engine was, no one believed that it could fly. It is not believed that it ever did achieve flight, despite some contradictory claims by Coanda himself, but was instead struck by disaster. It is rumored that as Coanda injected more fuel into the engine, he was surrounded by flames, thrown from the craft and was lucky to make it out alive. Coanda is not credited as the inventor of the first jet plane, but it is his technology that sky rocketed future aviation research and provided perspective into how jet engines should be built.

Coanda is most known today for his research into what is now known as the Coanda Effect, or propensity of a fluid to adhere to the walls of a convex surface. It is this principle that creates lift on an airplane wing and is also the driving force behind many of EXAIR’s Intelligent Compressed Air Products. If you’d like to discuss how the Coanda effect is utilized in a Super Air Knife, Super Air Amplifier, or Super Air Nozzle give us a call!

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

 

Jet Engine image courtesy of Luke Healy via Creative Commons License