THE COANDA EFFECT

o One may think of the gigantic reptile ‘ANACONDA’, while

traversing the title named ‘COANDA EFFECT’. It’s a fundamental
effect dealing with the flow of fluid jet stream on a curved surface.

o This phenomenon was named after a Romanian engineer, Henri

Coanda, who arguably invented the world’s first jet propelled aircraft
‘Coandă -1910’. While working with his project, Coanda noticed that
the airflow was attracted to nearby curved surfaces. In 1934, Coandă
obtained a patent in France for a "method and apparatus for deviation
of a fluid into another fluid”, which was later termed as ‘Coanda
effect’.

o The Coanda effect is best

understood by considering the
following domestic example, Get a
small stream of water coming down
from the sink, and then place the
bottom of the spoon next to the
stream. Hold the spoon next to the
stream coming from the tap. It’s
better to attach a piece of tape at the
handle end which act as a hinge. Move the spoon up to the edge
of the stream so it barely touches. Now the water will flow around
the bowl of the spoon and off the bottom deflected to the side
 and the spoon will move into the stream. Spoon is actually being
pulled towards the stream of water.

o Though the major applications are based upon aeronautical

industry, this effect is used up to a moderate extent in the devices
such as fluidic Thrust Vector Control (TVC) nozzles, compressed
air powered ejectors, jet pump shower nozzles and flow deflection
devices which are used in the chemical industries.

o In the field of fluidics, where Bernoulli’s principle plays a vital

role, it is ‘the Coanda effect’ which empowers the Bernoulli’s
principle.

o One of the most widely

used applications of
Bernoulli's principle is in
the lifting of airplane
wing. Wings are shaped
such that the top side of
the wing is curved while
the bottom side is relatively flat. In motion, the front edge of the
wing hits the air, and some of the air moves downward below the
wing, while some moves upward over the top. Since the top of the
wing is curved, the air above the wing must move up and down to
follow the curve around the wing and stay attached to it ( by
Coanda effect), while the air below the wing moves very little. The
air moving on the top of the curved wing must travel farther before
it reaches the back of the wing; consequently it must travel faster
 than the air moving under the wing, to reach the back edge at the
more or less same time. The air pressure on the top of the wing is
therefore less than that on the bottom of the wing, according to
Bernoulli’s principle. The higher pressure air on the bottom of the
wing pushes up on the wing with more force than the lower
pressure air above the wing pushes down. This result in a net force
acting upwards called lift. Lift pushes the wings upwards and
keeps the airplane in the air.

ARTICLE BY

MOHIDEEN ALIYAR JAFEER S | B. Tech CHEMICAL ENGINEERING | 2 ND YEAR