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Wind Gallery WG-1

The Wind Gallery is a facility that was designed for the study of pollutant gas cloud mitigation by water spray curtain. It reproduces a correctly scaled pollutant leak that is absorbed and dispersed by a liquid curtain, which can be oriented either upward or downward. The test section is 1m high, 1.3 m wide and 7 m long. A battery of four ejectors mounted at the back end drive the airflow.

The test section is also equipped with a wave tank of 1m wide, 4m long and 0.2 m deep, with the water waves generated by a plunger, to allow for wind-wave effects on wind energy harvesting for aligned and fully-opposed wind-wave configurations at a scale of about 1:300.

The ejectors maintain a low pressure inside of the test section to ensure that gas leaks migrate toward the interior of the facility.  The flow speed in the Wind Gallery can be varied from 0.25 to 1 m/s, which is equivalent to full-scale wind speeds ranging from 5 to ~18 km/h.  Curtains of 0.5 m height are installed, representing 5 m high curtains at full scale.

The Wind Gallery was constructed in compliance with material resistance requirements for the use of special chemicals.  Releases of SF6 , N2 and CO2 are used to simulate the pollutant. Wind speed, pollutant source and water curtain characteristics are controlled and measured during the tests.  In addition, pollutant concentration and temperature profiles can also be quantified. Safety devices and measures are installed at the facility to protect test personnel.

Wind Gallery