Every weekend my wife craves her “bed coffee”. I do my best to bring her some coffee in bed at least one, if not both weekend days. It makes her happy, and when she’s happy… The only thing I truly despise about this act of kindness is the actual pouring of the coffee. Now, I’m a decently smart guy but pouring this weekend coffee is a mess. Every time I end up with coffee on the counter, and many times on the mug. And when it gets on the mug it’s over, because it goes to the bottom of the mug and if I forget to wipe that off? Well, it gets on the sheets, because she inevitably rests her coffee on the sheets, and somehow this is my fault, and now she’s not happy anymore… (in fairness, she is still happy and just busts my chops about this part). But why does this happen to me?
It is a little refreshing to realize that I am just a victim of this scientific phenomenon called the Coanda profile. When I start to pour the coffee, the stream adheres to the outer wall of the coffee pot. This causes the coffee to run down the pot and onto the counter, where the cups are sitting (getting that mug bottom soaked in coffee). This is partially caused by the Coanda effect, and partially caused by me not being awake enough to outsmart a coffee pot. The simple solution is to simply increase the flow rate, right? This is correct however, this does not eliminate the Coanda Effect. In fact, even if you are smarter than me you will notice, after you pour the coffee, there is liquid on the side of the pot. That liquid may only be in the form of steam but it’s there, just to a lesser degree. The solution to avoid the mess, is to adjust the pot so that the pour angle is such that gravity overpowers the majority of the Coanda effect. Many times, in my case, this adjustment is too late…
The Coanda phenomena closely depends on several factors, the speed of the jet flow (pouring at a steeper angel), the flow rate (pouring more or less volume over time), and the profile of the container. I believe that a mad scientist invented my particular coffee pot with full intention of messing up countertops all over the world. In fact, he may be a super villain.
At EXAIR, we utilize the Coanda Profile to our benefit on most products. Here are 2 products that are perfect examples of how we use the Coanda Profile to maximize the performance of our products.
As you can see above, using the Coanda Profile correctly, dramatically increases the efficiency and the entrainment of air in our products. Between the Coanda effect, and the air entrainment, some of our products like the Super Air Amplifiers can output up to 25 times the amount of air that they consume.
Please contact us at anytime to see how the intelligent compressed air products of EXAIR can assist you in your application. And, don’t forget about bed coffee, it’s a win win for you and your spouse…
Thank you for stopping by,
Brian Wages
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Cover Photo by monileoni and licensed by Pixabay
Villain image by chrismaguirang and licensed by Pixabay