Wind tunnels

The AIR group has a unique set of experimental facilities in France :

A large industrial wind tunnel for the study of flow and atmospheric dispersion on real sites
An academic wind tunnel for the study of flow and dispersion on idealised academic configurations
An experimental tunnel for the study of natural convection and tunnel fires

General view of the atmospheric wind tunnel

General view of the atmospheric wind tunnel

Large industrial wind tunnel

It was constructed in 1977 in collaboration with EDF. This wind tunnel is used to study the dispersion in the atmospheric boundary layer.

Dimensions :

Length = 14 m.
Width = 3,8 m.
Height = 2 m.

Specifications :

Flow velocity : [1;10] m/s.
Stability : neutre.

Measurement techniques :

Hot Wire Anemometry.
Laser Doppler Anemometry.
Particle Image Velocimetry.
Flame Ionization Detector for concentration.

Large industrial wind tunnel

Academic wind tunnel

This academic wind tunnel has a small width, wich allows 2D analysis. Dimensions :

Length = 9 m.
Width = 0,7 m.
Height = 1 m.

Measurement techniques :

Hot Wire Anemometry.
Laser Doppler Anemometry.
Particle Image Velocimetry.
Flame Ionization Detector for concentration.

Academic wind tunnel

Experimental tunnel

This experience allows us to study fires in tunnels :

Smoke stratification.
Ventilation strategies.
...

Dimensions :

Lenght = 1,8 m.
Width = 0,36 m.
Height = [0,18;0,36] m.

Measurement techniques :

Particle Image Velocimetry.
Laser Doppler Anemometry.
Laser tomography (visualization)