Do you know Henri Coandă?
Do you know that he has a strong connection with aspiration?
A character from a novel: born in 1886 in Bucharest, into an upper-middle-class family; he was introduced to military studies from a very young age.
He immediately stood out for his familiarity with physics and aerodynamics, so much so that he managed (at just 19 years old) to design an aircraft missile for the Army.
He had the opportunity to travel around Europe (Belgium and Germany) to perfect his knowledge.
Until he decided that the military uniform was too “tight” for him.
Then he took a period that today we would define as a sabbatical, and, driving a car (bear in mind it’s 1909…) he decided to undertake a long journey that took him first to Isfahān and Tehran, in the then kingdom of Persia.
And then up to the peaks of Tibet.
Now, if you’re wondering how many unforeseen events a person in 1909 might have had to undertake such a journey with a car of that era, well, that makes two of us.
But that’s not the point of this post!
However… Henri returned from his very long journey and settled in Paris, where he the “Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace“.
Now, you may be wondering: what do car trips and aeroplanes have to do with extractor hoods?
We’re getting there…
It was in Belle-Epoque Paris that Henri published a project on a new type of aircraft engine, which exploited an effect that was soon named after him: the Coandă effect.
Using the discoverer’s own words:
“When a jet of fluid is passed over an adjacent flat or curved surface, it bends to follow the surface, entraining large amounts of air as it does so”.
Ergo, when the thermal plume, not disturbed by any air currents, rises from the cooking area, a surface parallel to it (such as a steel bulkhead) helps to convey the convective motion of these fumes, which they will direct towards the filters.
All with significant savings in terms of energy!
Well, we have already talked previously about the importance of bulkheads, both on the sides and in the back of the cooking line.
However, we did not thank Mr. Coandă for explaining to us why they are important!
Here we go: thanks, Henry!
And thank you Aluminox for providing Premium-Quality restaurant hoods!