Henry Coanda

17-19

Bordeeanu Valentin Dinu George Stefan Mihai Bravu Secondary Technical School

Bucharest, Romania, district 3

HENRY COANDA

HENRI COANDĂ

The future is the sum of the steps you take, including the small ones, the ignored steps or the mocked ones

Viitorul este suma paşilor pe care-i faceŃi, inclusiv a celor mici, ignoraŃi sau luaŃi în râs

Henri Coandă

Henri Coandă

Henri Marie Coandă (n. 7 iunie 1886 This paper presents the schools that the d. 25 noiembrie 1972) a fost un scholar attended, as well as some of Henri academician şi inginer român, pionier al Coandă’s inventions - a universal symbol aviaŃiei, fizician, inventator. of creativity in the field of science and Principalele sale invenŃii, cu implicaŃii technology. The Romanian scholar deosebite în tehnologie: Motorul cu stands for the relentless genius who brought reacŃie, Efectul Coandă, InstalaŃia solară mankind 2608 inventions in the course of pentru desalinizarea apei de mare, almost seventy years. Beton – lemnul Henri Marie Coandă (Born on the 7th of June 1886 - Died on the 25th of November 1972) was a Romanian scholar and engineer, aviation pioneer, physicist, inventor. His main inventions with central implications in technology are the following: The Reaction engine, the Coandă effect, the Solar installation for the desalination of sea water, Concrete – wood (Beton-Bois), Prefabricated houses, the Gun STAMP (THE MOLDAVIAN REPUBLIC). without recoil. COIN, IN COMMEMORATIVE EDITIONS, MEANT TO ILLUSTRATE He was born in Bucharest, and THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NAME HENRI COANDĂ IN ROMANIAN SCIENCE was the second child of a family that (Beton-Bois), Casele Prefabricate , would be a large one. It is worth mentioning Puşca fără recul. the fact that ever since he was a child, the Henri Coandă s-a născut în Bucureşti, future engineer and physicist would find fiind al doilea copil al unei familii numeroase. himself fascinated with the miracle of Tatăl lui, generalul Constantin Coandă, a wind. fost profesor de matematică la Şcoala Henri Coandă started school in BuchanaŃională de poduri şi şosele din rest but from 1899 he continued it at the Bucureşti. Military High-School in Iasi. He graduMama sa, Aida Danet, a fost fiica ated high-school in 1903 and was awarded medicului francez Gustave Danet, originar the degree of sergeant major.

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Furthermore, he returns to Bucharest where he continued his studies at the School of Artillery Officers. In 1904 he was detached to a field artillery regiment in Germany and he continues his studies at the Technische Hochschule (The Technical University) in Berlin-Charlottenburg. His passion for technical matters and especially the one for aviation start to come to being. Therefore, in 1905 Coandă builds a rocket-plane for the Romanian army. From 1907 until 1908 he also attends graduate classes in Liège, Belgium as well as at the Montefiore Technical Institute in Italy. In 1908 he returns home and is appointed active officer in the Second Artillery Regiment. Because of his nature and his inventiveness that did not comport well with the military discipline, he solicited and obtained permission to leave the army. Upon his return, he left for France and enrolled at the Superior School of Aeronautics and Constructions, a newly established school in Paris in 1909. In the following year he graduated from it and become the head of the first aeronautical engineers class. Benefiting from the support of engineer Gustave Eiffel and that of scholar Paul Painlevé, Henri Coandă has conducted aero dynamical experiments. He built the first aeroplane with reactive propulsion in Joachim Caproni’s workshop. The aeroplane built by Henri Coandă was an airplane with reaction, without a propeller, conventionally named, Coandă-1910 and was presented in 1910 at the 2nd International Salon in Paris. He managed to conduct his aero dynamical experiments on a mobile platform placed upon a train. Therefore, his experiments were conducted in movement, running at 90km/h, on the

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din Bretania. Încă din copilărie viitorul inginer şi fizician era fascinat de miracolul vântului. Henri Coandă a fost elev al Şcolii Petrache Poenaru din Bucureşti, apoi al Liceului Sf. Sava, din 1896, unde a urmat primele 3 clase. La 13 ani, a fost trimis de tatăl său, care voia să-l îndrume spre cariera militară, la Liceul Militar din Iaşi, în 1899. În 1903 termină liceul primind gradul de sergent major şi îşi continuă studiile la Şcoala de ofiŃeri de artilerie, geniu şi marină din Bucureşti. Detaşat la un regiment de artilerie de câmp din Germania 1904, este trimis la Technische Hochschule (Universitatea Technică) din Berlin-Charlottenburg. Pasionat de probleme tehnice şi mai ales de tehnica aviaticii, în 1905 Coandă construieşte un avion-rachetă pentru armata română. Între 1907-1908 a urmat de asemenea cursuri universitare în Belgia, la Liège, şi la Institutul tehnic Montefiore. În 1908 se întoarce în Ńară şi este încadrat ofiŃer activ în Regimentul 2 de artilerie. Datorită firii sale şi spiritului inventiv care nu se împăcau cu disciplina militară, el a cerut şi obŃinut aprobarea de a părăsi armata. Se înscrie în FranŃa la Şcoala superioară de aeronautică şi construcŃii, nou înfiinŃată la Paris 1909, al cărei absolvent devine în anul următor, 1910, ca şef al primei promoŃii de ingineri aeronautici. Cu sprijinul inginerului Gustave Eiffel şi savantului Paul Painlevé, care l-au ajutat să obŃină aprobările necesare, Henri Coandă a efectuat experimentele aerodinamice prealabile şi a construit în atelierul de carosaj al lui Joachim Caproni primul avion cu propulsie reactivă, de fapt un avion cu

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Paris-Saint Quentin route. The engineer could draw quantitative aeronautical determinations by using a wind tunnel with smoke, an aero dynamical scale and a special photographical camera, of his own. Because of these experiments he managed

reacŃie, fără elice, numit convenŃional Coandă-1910. Acest avion a fost prezentat la al doilea Salon internaŃional aeronautic de la Paris din 1910. Experimentele aerodinamice le realizează pe o platformă mobilă. Dispozitivul era montat pe un tren, iar experimentele se desfăşurau în mişcare, la o viteză de 90 km/h, pe linia Paris-Saint Quentin. Astfel a putut face determinări cantitative aeronautice, folosind un tunel de vânt cu fum, o balanŃă aerodinamică şi o cameră fotografică specială, de concepŃie proprie. Datorită acestor experimente a stabilit un profil de aripă funcŃional pentru viitoarele sale avioane. Între 1911-1914 Henri Coandă a lucrat ca director tehnic THE FIRST AEROPLANE WITH REACTIVE PROPULSION(JET la Uzinele de aviaŃie din AIRCRAFT) Bristol, Anglia şi a construit to establish a functional wing profile for his avioane cu elice de mare performanŃă, de future aeroplanes. concepŃie proprie. În calitatea sa de In 1911 in Reims, Henri Coandă predirector tehnic al Uzinelor Bristol, Henri sented the pattern for a new aeroplane. Coandă proiectează câteva avioane This one was endowed with a double clasice (cu elice) cunoscute sub numele de engine and a single propeller. Bristol-Coandă. În 1912 unul dintre ele Between 1911 and 1914, Henri câştigă premiul întâi la Concursul Coandă worked as a technical manager at internaŃional al aviaŃiei militare din Anglia. În următorii ani se întoarce în the Aviation Plants in Bristol, England and built planes with propellers of great FranŃa, unde lucrează la DalauneyBelleville Airplanes în Saint Denis. Aici performance, which were all his own designs. proiectează trei tipuri de aeronave, dintre care cel mai cunoscut este Coandă-1916, In his quality as a technical manager of the Bristol Plants, Henri Coandă decu două elici apropiate de coada signed several classical aeroplanes (with aparatului, asemănător cu avionul de propellers) known as Bristol-Coandă transport Caravelle (la proiectarea căruia Aeroplanes. In 1912 one of these aerode fapt a şi participat). În această epocă este planes won the first prize at the Internafoarte apreciat realizând şi prima sanie-

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tional Military Aviation Contest in the automobil propulsată de un motor cu reacŃie, primul tren aerodinamic din lume şi UK. In the following years, he returned to altele. France where he worked at the DalauneyÎn România, în 1926, Henri Coandă Belleville Airplanes in Saint Denis. It was pune la punct un dispozitiv de detecŃie a there that he designed three types of aerolichidelor în sol. Este folosit în prospectarea petroliferă. În Golful Persic inventatorul planes, of which, the most famous was Coandă-1916. This plane had two propelromân construieşte un echipament oceanic lers placed in the proximity of the plane’s de depozitare a petrolului extras departe tail, sharing great similarities with the de malul mării. În 1934 obŃine un brevet Caravelle transport aeroplane, for which de invenŃie francez pentru Procedeu şi dispozitiv pentru devierea unui curent Coandă was a technical consultant. de fluid ce pătrunde într-un alt fluid, In this period of time he is highly esteemed as he also accomplished his first care se referă la fenomenul numit astăzi automobile-sledge, endowed with a reaction engine. Afterwards, he also built the world’s first aerodynamic train and many more. Other inventions: In the year 1926, Henri Coandă developed a device aimed to detect the liquids in the ground. It was also DEVICE FOR SPREADING A FLAME BY THE COANDA EFFECT used in oil prospecting. In the Persian Gulf, the Romanian inEfectul Coandă. ventor built an oceanic equipment for the Efectul Coandă constă în devierea unui storage of oil away from the sea shore. jet de fluid care curge de-a lungul unui In 1934 he obtained a French licence perete convex, fenomen observat prima for the Device for the deviation of a curoară de el în 1910, cu prilejul probării rent of fluid that entered in another motorului cu care era echipat avionul său fluid. This refered to the phenomenon we cu reacŃie. call today, The Coandă Effect, a name După decolarea avionului, Henri Coandă given by the French professor Albert a observat că flăcările şi gazul Metral. The Coandă effect consisted in the incandescent ieşite din reactoare tindeau deviation of a fluid jet that flows alongside să rămână pe lângă fuzelaj. Abia după mai a convex wall. The phenomenon was first mult de 20 de ani de studii ale lui şi altor noticed by Coanda in 1910, when he tested savanŃi, inginerul român a formulat the engine that had equipped his reaction principiul din spatele aşa-numitului efect aeroplane. Henri Coandă noticed that afCoandă, numit astfel de profesorul Albert ter the plane took off; both the flames and Metral.

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the incandescent gas were coming out of the reactors had the tendency to remain next to the fuselage. It took more that twenty years of research from both Coandă and other scientists for them to formulate the principle behind the so-called Coandă effect. The discovery of the Coandă effect took him to major applicative researches concerning the hyper sustenance of aeroplanes, the making of sound attenuators, and many more. Henri Coandă returned to Romania for good in 1969 as manager of the Institute for Scientific and Technical Creation (INCREST) in Bucharest. In the following year, in 1970, he became a member of the Romanian Academy. As an appreciation of all his scientific merits, the management of the Romanian state named him a counsellor in rank of ministry in the State Council and the Polytechnic Institute in Bucharest granted him the title of Doctor Honoris Causa. Because of his exceptional accomplishments, Henri Coandă has remained one of the pioneers of the Romanian, as well as worldly aviation. A part of his numerous inventions, along with the patents that he obtained in different periods of time, are on display at the Technical Museum, section Coandă, in Bucharest. His name is also linked to some achievements of man into space. Among others, he is also the creator of certain technical devices of great intricacy, devices that are called, the flying stars, with which the brake of the lunar module of Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 were made

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Această descoperire l-a condus la importante cercetări aplicative privind hipersustentaŃia aerodinelor, realizarea unor atenuatoare de sunet şi altele. Henri Coandă revine definitiv în Ńară în 1969 ca director al Institutului de CreaŃie ŞtiinŃifică şi Tehnică (INCREST), iar în anul următor, 1970, devine membru al Academiei Române. Conducerea statului român, ca o recunoştinŃă a meritelor sale ştiinŃifice, l-a numit consilier cu rang de ministru în Consiliul de Stat iar Institutul Politehnic din Bucureşti i-a conferit titlul de Doctor Honoris Causa. Prin excepŃionalele sale realizări Henri

COANDĂ GETOL AIRCRAFT PROTOTYPE

Coandă a rămas unul dintre pionerii aviaŃiei române şi mondiale. O parte dintre numeroasele sale invenŃii precum şi brevetele obŃinute în diferite perioade se găsesc expuse la Muzeul Tehnic, secŃia Coandă, din Bucureşti. De numele lui sunt legate şi unele realizări ale zborului omului în cosmos. Printre altele lui ii aparŃin unele dispozitive tehnice deosebit de complexe, denumite epoleŃii zburatori cu ajutorul cărora s-a asigurat frânarea modulului lunar al lui Apollo 11 şi Apollo 12 în momentul aselenizării. Efectul Coandă, de exemplu, şi -a găsit variate aplicaŃii, cum ar fi la dispozitive de amortizare a zgomotelor

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possible when the time of the landing on the Moon came. For instance, the Coandă effect has many uses, such as: in devices meant to cushion industrial noises, in pulverising insecticides, in reducing recoil in fire weapons. Other interesting experiments were conducted by the Romanian scientist also in the field of flying by designing the so -called lenticular aerodine.

industriale de anumite categorii, pulverizarea in sectofungicidelor, reducerea reculului la armele de foc. Alte experienŃe interesante au fost întreprinse de savant tot în domeniul zborului prin proiectarea aşa-numitelor aerodine lenticulare. Efectul Coandă şi-a mai găsit utilitatea şi în conceperea unui Dispozitiv pentru îmbunătăŃirea randamentului motorului cu ardere internă şi a unei Frâne de recul pentru armele de foc. Efectul care îi poartă numele este pus azi în The Coandă effect has also found its use in the designing of a device for the imaplicare la propulsia şi sustentaŃia vehiculelor provement of effiaeriene, la îmbunătăŃirea turbinelor de ciency for the gaze, în amplificatoare de engine with fluide, la aparate pneumatice, etc. internal combustion and Coandă a realizat invenŃii also, with the şi domeniul construcŃiilor, şi aici trebuie notat aşa-numitul designing of a recoil brake béton-bois, un foarte bun for fire weapmaterial decorativ de ons. Today, construcŃie, folosit de el la the effect that realizarea, în 1926, a bears his name Palatului Culturii din Iaşi, RIGHT:THE ROMANIAN SCHOLAR AND HIS AMERIis currently besau elementele spaŃiale de CAN APPRENTICE PATRICK FLANAGAN IN 1962 ing used for prefabricate folosite tot în LEFT: HENRY COANDA the mainteconstrucŃii. Tot Coandă a mai nance of aerial vehicles, for the impus la punct şi dispozitive pentru provement of gas turbines, and so on. prepararea, păstrarea şi transportul Coandă has invented many elements betonului, chiar pe calea ferată (vagoane that are useful in the field of Construcpentru beton), dar şi un dispozitiv pentru desalinizarea apei de mare. Celebră este tions, and here, we must mention the socalled béton-bois, a very good decorative invenŃia unui nou material de construcŃie, material of construction, also used in the beton-lemnul (Beton-Bois), folosit pentru building of the Palace of Culture in Iaşi in decoraŃiuni (de exemplu la Palatul culturii 1926. din Iaşi, ridicat în 1926, decorat în totalitate We must also take into account the spacu materialul lui H. Coandă). tial elements also used in Constructions. Şirul invenŃiilor inginerului Henri Coandă was also the one to established the Coandă se ridică la impresionanta cifră de 2608, iar cele 700 de brevete de inovaŃii lfirst devices for the conservation, keeping and transportation of concrete, even on the au recomandat ca pe un mare savant al

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railroad (wagons for concrete), but also a device for the desalination of sea water.

LENTICULAR AERODINE

The number of Henri Coandă’s inventions is estimated at the impressive sum of 2608, and the 700 innovation licences have recommended him as a great scientist of the XX century. For his fruitful activity, Henri Coandă was awarded many distinctions. Thus, in 1965 he received the prize of the Haryy Diamond, laboratories, as well as the Prize and the Vieilles Tiges Great Gold Medal, the UNESCO Prize for Scientific Research, the Medal of the French Aeronautics, the Order of Merit and the ring of Commandor. He was also the youngest officer of the French Academy, as well as Member of the Romanian Academy. Coandă died in Bucharest November 25, 1972 at the age of 86. His heritage towards mankind can be summed-up to his 2608 inventions.

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secolului XX. Pentru activitatea sa prodigioasă, Henri Coandă a primit numeroase distincŃii. Astfel, el a primit, în 1965, Premiul Laboratoarelor Haryy Diamond, dar şi Premiul şi Marea Medalie de aur Vieilles Tiges, Premiul UNESCO pentru Cercetare ŞtiinŃifică, Medalia Aeronauticii Franceze, Ordinul de Merit şi Inelul de Comandor. A fost cel mai tânăr ofiŃer al Academiei Franceze, dar şi Membru al Academiei Române. Henri Coandă a decedat la Bucureşti, la 25 noiembrie 1972, la vârsta de 86 de ani şi a fost înmormântat la cimitirul Belu. • • • • • •

Bibliography and Iconography C. Gheorghiu, Romanian Inventions and Priorities in Aviation, (Bucharest: Albatros Publishing House, 1983); G. Rado, Priorities and World Records in Aviation, (Bucharest: Tehnoprod Publishing House, 2003); The History of the Romanian Aviation, (Bucharest: The Military Publishing House, 1991); Henri Coandă on: http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Henri_Coand%C4%83; www.wetterwater.net/ why_take_crystalenergy.html; www.posta.md/en/filatelia/2000-0226/409.html.

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