At Clean Air, we don’t just design fume cupboards to look good…our signature curved side panels are doing some serious scientific heavy lifting.

Let’s talk about the Coandă Effect. It’s a fascinating bit of physics where air naturally “sticks” to a curved surface as it flows past. We’ve applied this to the design of our fume cupboards – like the Discovery, Radius Profile, APEX, and OPTIMAX models – to keep harmful fumes moving in the right direction: out of your breathing zone.

Take a look at the comparison below. On the left is an older, flat-sided model. On the right is our newest addition to the Clean Air range, the Discovery fume cupboard. It features curved side panels and inlet profiles and has been extensively modelled to optimise airflow and maximise containment. This isn’t just a cosmetic change. It’s a fundamental redesign rooted in science.

The lines show the direction of the airflow, and the colours show airflow speed. Blue is slow, red is fast. The arcs show areas where air can swirl and recirculate. That swirling is a problem because it gives fumes the chance to linger, increasing the risk of exposure.

Our curved inlet design keeps airflow hugging the wall and moving steadily, reducing those dead zones. In fact, airflow stays closer to the side, just 12mm away compared to 73mm in older models. That means less chance for fumes to build up, especially near equipment.

And there’s more. Most of our fume cupboards’ worktops include a bund (a little raised edge). You may think it’s just there to contain spills, but it also prevents you from placing beakers or kit right against the side. That extra 35mm buffer means any fumes that are released get swept away immediately.

Behind all of this is our advanced use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). We first adopted this technology to eliminate the need for SF₆, a potent greenhouse gas with a GWP of 24,300, in fume cupboard type testing. As a bonus, CFD is now helping us prove and refine our designs, modelling airflow at billions of data points inside and outside the chamber. Our approach is data-led, evidence-based, and focused on optimising fume cupboards for the next generation of containment performance.

The result?
A safer, cleaner, more effective working environment – all thanks to a little curve and a lot of science.