Purpose
Reference site allowing experiments on various types of pipes and gases (namely CO2), including massive gas leakages and the measurement of their thermodynamic behaviour.
Brief technical description with picture and/or diagram
The site enables to manage gases under high pressures (between 100 and 200 bars) and to simulate gas leakages or breaches on industrial equipment on pipes with diameters of 1 to 3 inches, to study:
- the flow upstream the breach and the various possible flow regimes,
- the characteristics of the resulting jet after the breach (diameter, speed and concentration for example),
- the dispersion of the cloud in the atmospheric environment as well as the possible changes of state (liquid formation and, even, carbonic ice in the case of CO2).
This permanent equipment on the test site of Montlaville is widely recognized for safety purposes in the industry. It is possible to adapt the equipment to answer specific isues related to the industrial safety for toxic and flammable gases – either to study the gas behavior, to improve modeling tools or to test risk prevention barriers. It is of course possible to bring answers to emergent questions and to carry out experiments in close collaboration between several partners or industrialists.
This reference site is unique in France and well-known in Europe, allowing experiments on various types of pipes and gases.
Located 3 km from INERIS, the site can easily be operated and monitored. A careful preparation of experiments is necessary, including the pipes and vessels, the measurement devices, the gas preparation (in case of mixture), the safety measures.
The site contains several trial pipes and storage capacities between 1 and 5 m3, with related recirculation equipment (pumps, flow-meters, gauges, etc). Dedicated measurement devices are also available on-site for concentrations, velocity, pressure and for thermodynamic parameters, as well as advanced visualization techniques (camera HD, fast-camera, infrared camera).