A Bernoulli grip uses airflow to adhere to an object without physical contact. Such grippers rely on the Bernoulli airflow principle. While an accelerating, increasing speed, airstream has a low downstream

static pressure In fluid mechanics the term static pressure refers to a term in Bernoulli's equation written words as ''static pressure + dynamic pressure = total pressure''. Since pressure measurements at any single point in a fluid always give the static pres ...

, the sharp turn from linear to radial flow is the cause of a region of very low pressure around the blower exit hole. This is the cause of a net force on the object in the direction normal to the side with higher local pressure. A Bernoulli gripper takes advantage of this by maintaining this negative pressure at the gripper face compared to the ambient pressure below the sample, while maintaining an air gap between the gripper and the object being held.

Applications

Commercially available Bernoulli grips are commonly used to handle rigid sheet like material such as silicon wafers in

circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes and other features (similar to wires on a flat surface) ...

manufacturing, or

photovoltaic cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.

components. Since the grip is contactless, this form of gripping lends itself to handling sterile material to prevent chemical and/or biological

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that renders something unsuitable, unfit or harmful for the physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination Within the scien ...

. Research has been done into using Bernoulli grippers to transport sample sheet

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

stuffs in a

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

context, although this work found difficulties as the flexible foods would

vibrate Vibration () is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. Vibration may be deterministic if the oscillations can be characterised precisely (e.g. the periodic motion of a pendulum), or random if the oscilla ...

against the gripper, deforming and alternately blocking the gripper and/or being blown away from the airway. The Bernoulli grip is also being investigated as a non-contact adhesion mechanism for wall climbing robots.

References

{{reflist, 2 Aerodynamics Fluid dynamics