Key points
- The Coanda nozzle is a concept dating to the 1970s, adapted for TMC’s Allseas-designed collector to pick up nodules without digging or dredging the seabed.
- Curved-plate flow generates suction to lift nodules while minimizing erosion of the seabed’s top layer, reducing sediment entrainment into the system.
- Engineers assessed several pickup options and selected the Coanda nozzle for its performance in minimizing sediment intake, a focus since the project’s start.
- The team built prototypes to refine the nozzle’s shape and operating conditions, aiming to limit benthic and pelagic sediment plumes.
